


Moving On

by GreaterAwareness



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Aldera, Astromech Droids (Star Wars), Clones, F/M, Jedi, KRO VAR, Major Original Character(s), Pantorans (Star Wars), Planet Alderaan (Star Wars), Planet Geonosis (Star Wars), Planet Scarif (Star Wars), Planet Takodana (Star Wars), Planet Umbara (Star Wars), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rex smokes, Sith, Slow Burn, Tatooine Folklore (Star Wars), The Force, shapers, stormtroopers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28705437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreaterAwareness/pseuds/GreaterAwareness
Summary: Life after Order 66 for Captain Rex is hell. Content to waste his days drinking on a godforsaken planet like Tatooine, Rex is sure that he has never sunken so low. The last thing Rex expected to find was a Shaper woman named Avayla in search of a Jedi Master. Or to learn that the Empire knows that he's alive and is out looking for him. She uses the Force unlike any Jedi Rex has ever seen but lacks basic knowledge of the worlds around them. Unable to fire on his former brothers he'll find he needs Avayla as much as she needs him.This is set around 6 months after Order 66. This is my take on how Rex found Wolffe and Gregor and how they ended up on planet Seelos before Rebels. I am currently rewriting the chapters before continuing the story. Until chapter 9 is out the current chapters are in the process of being rewritten. I have also had a few health things pop up so my posting may slow down for awhile until I can get my energy back. I will try and get back to posting once a week again.
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1. Tatooine

There were few places Rex considered more hopelessly awful then Tatooine. A desert planet ran by gangsters and where only the most soulless beings could thrive. He had been here before. Felt the beating heat from the two suns, the coarse sand that found its way in every piece of clothing, smelt the foul odors of the locals, seen the despair on their faces. Now, Rex was one of them. If there was a lower point one could sink, Rex was there. He sits on a stool in a cantina drowning his sorrows in a drink that made his tongue numb. He couldn’t tell if the drink was as bad as it tasted or if it was the overwhelming musk of the patrons that made his stomach churn. Either way, he kept drinking. He keeps the hood of his cloak down when a Rodian sits next to him.

“You hear those stormtroopers have finally made their way to Tatooine?” the Rodian snorts to his companion. Rex sips his drink silently.

“Yeah, saw one coming up here. Seems to be looking for someone.”

Rex finishes his drink before sliding a few credits to the barkeep. _Time to go_. He keeps his head down when crossing the crowded cantina. Thanks to his new drinking habits, his movements were anything but stealthy. When he steps out into the scorching heat, he uses the side of the cantina to steady himself. It takes a minute before his eyes can adjust to the bright light and when they do, they never really focus. He looks out at the crowds filling the small streets squinting as if it would help his eyesight become clear. When he is semi certain that no stormtroopers were near by he starts down the street.

On Coruscant, Rex had learned the ancient art of maneuvering through the bustling city drunk. Only once did Cody ever have to save him from nearly walking off an edge. Despite his intense training it did nothing to prepare him for the soft sand that made his feet feel ten times heavier. Or the heat that felt like it was physically pushing him down into the sand. After walking into a Dug and nearly getting shoved into a boiling pot, Rex decided the back alleys would be the better bet. The smell didn’t improve but he was thankful for what shade he could get. Rex slides his hood back letting what breeze there was hit the back of his sweaty neck. When he reaches up to rub his shoulder, he glances back enough to see a hooded figure trailing slowly behind him. He stares forward and keeps walking. He turns down a more secluded alley before turning again and stopping. With his blasters drawn he presses himself against the building wall. When the stranger is close enough Rex steps out aiming at the stranger’s head.

“Why are you following me?” He asks trying not to slur his words. The hooded stranger tilts their head to the left before stabbing their staff into the sand so they can reach up and lower their hood. A Pantoran woman stares at Rex with large golden eyes. She has light blue skin that has a slight shine from her sweat with pastel purple hair that is pulled back into a high ponytail.

“Are you Commander Wolffe?” She asks.

“No,” he says shifting his weight slightly taken off guard. She stares into his eyes looking for any sign that he might be lying. When she turns away, she lets out a frustrated sigh.

“Then I am sorry to have bothered you.” She says taking her staff in her hands. She turns to walk away.

“Wait,” Rex steps forward putting his blasters away. The woman turns back to him. “Why are you looking for Commander Wolffe?”

“I have been searching for someone. I was told a Commander Wolffe would know where I could find him,” She explains before looking to the side frowning. “But it is proving to be quite difficult considering he is a part of the Clan of One Face.”

“Clan of One Face?” Rex repeats the foreign words. The woman raises an eyebrow at him.

“The Clan of One Face,” She repeats like it would suddenly dawn on Rex what she was talking about. “ _Your_ clan. You and your people share the same face.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Rex almost laughs realizing what she was going on about. “You mean clone. The word you are looking for is _clone_.”

She furrows her brow while crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her left side.

“I am not familiar with that word.” She says slowly not meeting Rex’s eyes. Rex tilts his head up frowning.

“What, you’ve never heard of a clone before? But you know about Commander Wolffe?” Rex snorts placing a hand on his hip.

“I am not familiar with many phrases and… _things_ of this part of the galaxy. I am not from here.” She says avoiding Rex’s eyes.

“I would imagine you are from Pantora.” Rex says crossing his arms. The woman meets his eyes looking more confused.

“Pantora?” She speaks the word like it was the first time she’s spoken it. “I’ve never heard of this place.”

Rex was only more confused if not slightly intrigued by the woman. He begins to ask another question when the hair on his nape stands on end. He feels the blood drain from his face and limbs go numb. The crackling of a communicator echoes through the alleys. He struggles to turn his head towards the sound with his body going stiff. He hears their voice speaking to the coms making Rex’s heart pound against his chest. The woman notices the changes in Rex and tightens her grip on her staff.

“What’s wrong?” She asks softly with eyes darting past Rex looking for any sign of trouble. Rex squeezes his eyes closed trying to compose himself with the distant sounds of a ship crashing on a moon ringing in his ears. Flashes of Jesse aiming his blasters at him burns behind his eyes. When Rex opens his eyes again his breathing has become shallow. He can hear the footsteps as they approach. He needed to move but his body was grounded where he stood. He meets the woman’s confused and slightly concerned stare.

“We need to leave.” He finally says. The woman knits her brows together before pulling Rex behind a stack of crates. Adrenaline races through his veins but he is unable to move from his spot. He draws his blasters with his back pressed to the crates trying to focus on his breathing. The woman looks much more composed compared to Rex. Though she probably has no idea what is going on. The woman steps out from behind the crates and motions Rex to stay still. Not that he had much choice. When the familiar shaking reaches his hands, he grinds his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut in frustration.

“Halt,” A voice cuts through the ringing in Rex’s ears. He opens his eyes staring forward trying to stop the shaking. “We are looking for this fugitive. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous.”

Rex carefully peeks through the cracks of the crates to see two now stormtroopers. They wear the new armor issued by the Empire, but it was a clone’s voice that spoke through the helmet. One held up a small hologram of Rex. He felt the air get knocked out of his chest. How did they know he was still alive? He had faked his death with Ahsoka almost 6 months ago. Why now? Rex had been so careful.

The woman is startled at first when the hologram first appears. She takes a step back before slowly leaning in examining Rex’s image. He swallows waiting to see what the woman will do. She carefully lifts her hand to poke at the image before jumping back like it would attack her.

“What is this?” She asks before reaching for the hologram again and watching her hand pass through it. The two troopers stare at each other before looking back at the woman.

“Uh… never mind. You can go.” They say putting the hologram away. They start down an alley away from Rex. When the troopers were out of sight the invisible weight grounding Rex to his spot releases him. He puts his blasters away and carefully walks out from behind the crates.

“Thank you…”  
“Did you see that?” The woman asks cutting Rex off. Rex raises a brow at her.

“The two stormtroopers?” Rex points in the direction that they walked away.

“No, the thing they held in their hand! It was _you_ but it wasn’t! My hand went right through it like it was air.” She looks down at her hand amazed.

“That was a hologram… haven’t you ever seen one before?” Rex asks slowly. The woman meets his eyes before looking away almost embarrassed.

“No.” she admits while crossing her arms. Rex blinks before rubbing his face tiredly.

“Where are you from exactly?” Rex asks never meeting someone who doesn’t have at least some concept of basic technology. She chews on the inside of her cheek not meeting Rex’s eyes. “Okay, then tell me why you are looking for Commander Wolffe.”

“I told you, I’m not looking for _him_ I’m looking for someone he knows.” She sighs letting her arms swing at her side as she paces.

“And who is that?”

The woman opens her mouth but shuts it with her eyes looking past Rex. Rex feels his body go stiff again as the sound of a communicator crackles behind him.

“Hey, you!” a clone calls from behind him. Rex places his trembling hands on his holsters. The woman nods slowly before Rex spins on his heel drawing his blasters. The stormtrooper pauses before aiming his own weapon at Rex. Rex tries to squeeze the trigger, but it was like all feeling had left his hands. When it was clear his body would not budge, he closes his eyes excepting the end.

When a strong gust of wind nearly knocks Rex over, his eyes open barely in time to see the woman attack the stormtrooper. The one shot the trooper managed to fire missed both of them hitting one of the alley walls. Rex blinks a few times staring at the unconscious stormtrooper and the unfazed woman who looks more concerned of the sand on her cloak then by nearly getting shot.

“How did you reach him so fast?” Rex asks amazed. The woman gives a shrug.

“I’m fast.” She says nonchalantly. Rex shakes his head with more questions than before. But before he can ask them a blaster fires barely missing his shoulder. Rex aims his blasters but is still unable to pull the trigger. Stormtroopers charge down an alley towards them. The woman grabs Rex and throws him behind the stack of crates again before kneeling beside him placing a hand on his shoulder. “These men stir up a great trauma in you. Wait here. I will dispose of them.”

“What?” Is all Rex can get off before the woman stands, dropping her cloak to the sand, and walking out from behind the crates. Rex pokes his head out from his hiding place watching her walk into heavy fire. His heart was pounding as loudly as the blaster shots. He was convinced she was going to die. The woman bends her knees slightly before leaping into the air. _To_ high into the air. Almost like…

“A Jedi!” a trooper yells while they aim all their firepower onto the woman. Rex first thought he was imagining the flames that appeared at the bottom of her feet until she landed with an explosion. It knocked the wall of stormtroopers back and nearly buried Rex under a pile of crates. Rex kicks a crate off him before scrambling to find the woman again. She fights the stormtroopers in hand-to-hand combat. Her movements were so fast that Rex could barely keep up with her. She spins her staff creating a whirlwind around her sending the troopers flying. She was creating so much chaos that the stormtroopers couldn’t land a shot on her. She leaps forward punching one of the troopers with flames surrounding her fists. When the last two troopers charge, she takes a deep breath while holding her hands in front of her moving them in opposite directions until a disk of fire forms between them. She sends it flying severing an arm of one trooper and the head of the other. They fall to the ground with a thud as their blood pools in the sand. The only sounds are of the few moaning survivors and the dying flames from the woman’s attacks.

“In all my years… I have _never_ seen a Jedi do that!” Rex says carefully approaching the woman and gesturing to the chaos around them.

“That is because I am no Jedi.” The woman walks over to pick up her cloak. She frowns while trying to shake all the sand off it. Rex flinches before holding his blaster up aimed at the woman.

“A Sith then.” He narrows his eyes at her. She wrinkles her nose at him.

“I am no Sith either.” She says pulling her cloak on. Rex lowers his blasters shaking his head.

“Then what are you?”  
The woman smiles at him before sticking her staff in the sand.

“I am a Shaper of Kro Var. There my people can shape the elements with what you call the Force.”

“I am… unfamiliar with those words.” Rex says finally putting his blasters away.

“I would not expect you to. I asked you about Commander Wolffe because I was told he could lead me to a Master Plo Koon. Master Plo came to my planet when I was a girl. I left my planet in search of him so that I may learn the ways of the Force like the Jedi.” She explains. Rex nods finally understanding.

“I’m afraid Master Plo Koon is dead. All the Jedi are in fact. I’m sorry.” Rex says rubbing the back of his neck. The woman frowns at him.

“How is that possible?”

“There was a war… the Jedi fought in it and lost.” Rex feels his chest ache. The woman shakes her head and begins to pace in deep thought.

“That cannot be true. I do not believe that the Jedi are all gone.” She says bringing her pacing to a stop. “Is there no one who can help me?”

“ _Ahsoka_ ,” He whispered her name without meaning to. He hasn’t spoken her name in a long time. The woman stares at him desperately. “I mean… there may be others out there who could teach you. But it is not safe here for people like you. You should go back to your home planet away from this mess.”

“I do not run.” She says jabbing her staff into the sand frowning. “You are familiar with the Jedi. You were around them. Saw them use the Force.”

“Yes.”

“Then you can teach me.” She says plainly. Rex lets out a laugh until its clear the woman is not joking.

“You can’t be serious? I can’t use the Force!” Rex says shaking his head.

“Until I find a real Master you are the closes thing I have.” She says crossing her arms.

“That’s ridiculous,” He snorts. “Why would I even agree to something like that?”

“I saw how you reacted to those men. You froze.” Her words cut Rex deep. “They are looking for you. Until you resolve the turmoil inside, you will not be able to defend yourself. I could protect you if you help me find a living Jedi.”

Rex wanted to argue. He wanted to call her foolish and walk away but he knew she was right. He hasn’t been able to fire a shot since faking his death with Ahsoka. How did they even know that he was still alive? And if they knew that he was alive does that mean that they are after Ahsoka too? He clenches his hands into tight fists.

“Okay,” He says finally. “I’ll help you. For a little while at least.”

“Thank you,” The woman says giving a slight bow. They begin clearing the area before more stormtroopers head their way. “What do they call you?”

“I’m Rex. Just Rex.” He says pulling his hood back over his head.

“It is nice to meet you Rex. I am Avayla Va-koth.” She gives a soft smile as she pulls her own hood back up. Rex had a bad feeling about this. But as they slowly began blending in with the crowds on the main street, Rex realized something. For the first time in almost 6 months, he wouldn’t be alone. 


	2. ORIGINS

After causing such a commotion in town, Rex thought it would be best to lay low in the mountains of Tatooine. Rex throws an armful of wood down that he had salvaged from a planet before coming here. He bends down to try and spark a fire when Avayla holds her hand out causing flames to burst up almost burning Rex’s eyebrows off. She chuckles when he falls back surprised. He clears his throat trying to regain himself before getting to his feet and unpacking what little he had. He tosses her a sleeping mat and blanket before pulling out a chunk of meat to roast. She helps him set up a spit before they sit on opposite sides of the fire taking turns rotating the meat.

“So,” Rex says breaking the silence they shared since leaving town. “Kro Var? What’s that like?”  
The woman doesn’t look up from the meat as she rotates it.

“It’s lonely.” She says finally. Rex shifts to reach the spit when it’s his turn to rotate it.

“How so?” He carefully pushes. She reaches for her blanket and wraps it around her shoulders. It was growing colder as the suns went down. She purses her lips looking to the side.

“We are not like the planets here,” She goes on. “We do not have… what was it called? Holo… hola?”

“Holograms.” Rex says. She nods.

“Yes, that. We are a very primitive people,” She explains. “But we are strong and steeped with tradition.”

She frowns when she reaches for the spit to begin rotating it.

“Is that a bad thing?” Rex asks leaning back. She shakes her head frustratedly.

“No, but yes. We are proud of our tradition but sometimes it is our tradition that is holding us back. My people are much like yours,” She meets his eyes. “We are warriors. My clan has been at war with our neighbor clans for as long as anyone can remember. I have lost many friends and loved ones in battle.”

Rex drops his eyes towards the fire.

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” He says softly. He pokes the fire with a stray stick. “So, does everyone fight like you?”

“No,” She says with a half-smile. “Not all of my people can shape the elements. But they are just as ferocious warriors as the Shapers. Everyone in my Clan is taught how to fight in some way. I just wish it did not have to be that way.”

Rex leans forward to start rotating the meat so Avayla could rest.

“Yeah, I know that feeling too.” He says with a heavy sigh. Avayla pulls her knees to her chest watching him. She wraps her arms around her legs rocking slightly to the side.

“So,” She says after a moment of silence. “Do all of the people in your clan fight like that?”

Rex lets out a laugh.

“No, those were _shinnies_. Wait until you see some of the real clone troopers! They’ll give ya a real challenge.” Rex says with a laugh still rotating the spit.

“I was beginning to think all the stories I heard about your kind were not true. I look forward to this challenge.” She grins. Rex gives a small chuckle. When the meat is fully cooked, he finds two metal plates and cuts off a portion for both Avayla and himself. They return to silence with the only sounds are of their chewing. Rex takes a bite of the meat and notices Avayla devouring hers. She tears into it like a rabid dog. Rex swallows his bite and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Hungry, aren’t you?” He says already cutting off another chunk for her. She pauses realizing that he was watching her and wipes the grease from her mouth.

“I apologize,” She says with her blue cheeks turning a shade pink. “I have not eaten in some time.”  
“How long have you been on Tatooine?” He asks taking another bite. She shrugs her shoulders with her mouth full.

“A month?” She says when she finally swallows. Rex frowns at her.

“A month? What did you do for food?”

“I stole it mostly.” She says finishing her food. Rex gives a small snort.

“So, what was your plan exactly? Go to random planets hoping to find Commander Wolffe and pray he would actually take you to Master Plo?” Rex arches a brow. Avayla frowns at him before pulling her knees back to her chest. “Actually, how did you leave your planet?”

“We have ships,” She says defensively. “We just do not have all the other things. The truth is only Master Shapers are allowed to leave the planet in search of others like us. My Master was preparing his ship to leave to do that until… well until I stole the ship and flew away.”

“So, where’s your ship?” Rex asks. Avayla looks away with her face turning a deep shade of red.

“I _may_ have crashed it a few miles from that town…” She says slowly. Rex rubs his face trying to hold back a laugh. 

“So, just so I’m understanding this right. You stole your master’s ship and just flew in a random direction before hitting Tatooine? Without any money or supplies and without knowing a thing of the outside worlds?” Rex says making Avayla’s face twist with embarrassment. He laughs when her nose wrinkles like she had smelt something rotten. “Is learning to be a Jedi so important? You can already do more then most Jedi ever could.”

“It is not about power,” She says meeting his eyes. “Where I am from our power is used for war and destruction. The Jedi are peacekeepers. They do not treat it like a weapon. I want to learn how to be like that. To not just destroy. To… to be something else.”

Rex nods slowly. He understood all to well. He leans back on his hands watching the flames slowly die out. Towards the end of the war Rex had wondered what would happen when it was finally over. What would happen to the clones? To his brothers? He never imagined it would end like this. Rex grunts getting to his feet and walks over to a spot looking out at the desert valley. He sits cross legged and pats the spot next to him. Avayla follows his lead and sits.

“Look, I can’t use the Force and it all kinda confuses me,” He says rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “But I can remember a few things that I saw the Jedi do.”  
He thought back to General Skywalker. No, perhaps General Kenobi would be a better example. General Skywalker never acted like a traditional Jedi after all.

“The Jedi would sit like this sometimes and meditate.” Rex starts.

“My people meditate as well.” She says.

“There were times when they meditated that they could use the Force to somehow find or even communicate with other Jedi.”

“Really? I have heard stories of their mind powers, but I never knew they could do that.” 

“You’d be amazed at what they could do. They would sit like this and close their eyes.” He says mimicking the way he saw General Kenobi do a few times. Avayla does the same. “Now… use the Force.”  
“I don’t know what that means.” She says with her eyes closed. Rex presses his lips together. He didn’t know what it meant either.

“Maybe it’s similar to when you used fire back in town just… without the fire?” He guesses. Avayla sighs with a twitch of her head before falling still into deep meditation. He sits next to her feeling like a fool for even attempting to teach someone how to use the Force. Ahsoka and Fives would be laughing at him. He feels a soft smile spread across his face. He would give anything to have them laughing at him again.

Fire explodes behind them from the dying fire. Rex falls forward shielding the back of his head. Avayla gives a frustrated yell.

“I am so sorry.” She says trying to put the fire out.

“No, its fine,” He says stomping at a few stray flames. “It’s not like I know what I’m talking about.”

When the flames have been extinguished, they sit in the dark with only the stars and the moon for light. Avayla looks up at the stars admiring them while Rex keeps his eyes down. The stars only reminded him of being on the old Republic ships. And thinking of anything back then made his chest ache.

“You said the Jedi fought in a war,” Avayla says after a time. Rex looks up at her. “Why were they fighting if they were peacekeepers?”

“They had no choice. The Sith had returned and had created a Separatist army. They were trying to take over the galaxy. Someone had to stop them.” Rex explains. She looks down thinking.

“And your clan stepped forward to fight along side the Jedi?” She asks. Rex feels his chest tighten.

“No, but yes,” He says softly. “We didn’t have a choice. We were made to fight in the war.”

She frowns confused.

“You were made to fight in the war?” she repeats the words like it would help her understand it.

“Yeah, we were made in a lab. Cloned from a man named Jango Fett…” Rex stops when it’s clear it was only making Avayla more confused.

“So, you were slaves to the Jedi?” She says slowly.

“No, we weren’t slaves we were…”  
“But you said that you had no choice in fighting the war. That would mean that you were a slave.” She goes on. Rex shakes his head.

“No, we were soldiers! We fought _beside_ the Jedi.” He insists. She frowns at him.

“Were you paid? Did they ever give you an option to stop fighting?”

Rex opens his mouth to argue but no words come out. He closes his mouth standing. He decides to busy himself with setting up his matt letting his anger simmer.

“I am sorry if I angered you.” She says but Rex doesn’t respond. Realizing Rex was content to stay silent she rolls out her own matt before they both lay down for the night. Rex turns with his back to her. “So, you said the Jedi fought in a war and lost.”

“Yeah.” He says closing his eyes with a sigh.

“Does that mean you lost too?”

His hand tightens into a fist. So many emotions and faces flash behind Rex’s eyes.

“Yeah.”

They don’t speak again for the rest of the night.

It was footsteps that woke Rex. He leaps to his feet with his body on high alert. He draws his blasters with blurry eyes struggling to focus from the sudden jolt to consciousness. The two suns were just beginning to rise spreading a warm orange glow over the landscape. Avayla wakes from his fast movements and gets to her feet taking a fighting stance. A man walks up the dirt hill towards them hidden by a long brown cloak.

“Who are you?” Rex asks now fully focused. He keeps his blasters aimed on the stranger. The stranger pauses ten feet away from Rex and Avayla. The stranger reaches up and lowers his hood causing Rex to almost drop his blasters from the sheer shock of seeing his face again. He gives Rex his signature smirk. 

“Hello there.”

“General Kenobi!”

  
  



	3. Luck

Rex stands in utter disbelief. He almost drops his blasters from the sheer sight of the man in front of him. General Kenobi arches a brow at Rex and then Avayla. He almost looks the exact same. His hair is a little unkept and his beard has grown longer and untrimmed. Dark circles have formed under the General eyes like the ones under Rex’s.

“I can’t believe it,” Rex breathes stepping forward. The General holds a hand up moving his right foot back into a defensive position. Rex pauses feeling his heart drop. He doesn’t trust Rex. Rex puts his blasters away and holds his hands up. “I’m not like the others. I swear it General.”  
“And how do I know that?” The General asks narrowing his eyes. Rex swallows before tilting his head to point at the scar where Commander Tano removed his inhibitor chip.

“Fives was right, Sir. The Separatists put inhibitor chips in our heads to make us turn against the Jedi. Mine was removed.” He keeps his hands up. His heart pounds in his ears while the General considers what Rex has said. General Kenobi glances at Avayla who is ready to attack at the first sign of hostility. He lifts a hand to his chin pondering.

“I believe you.” He says finally. Rex lets out a breath of relief and drops his hands.

“He’s a friendly,” Rex says to Avayla who slowly follows his lead and puts her staff away. Rex looks back to the General. “How did you find us?”

“I was looking for her it seems,” The General says gesturing to Avayla. “I sensed you reaching out with the Force. I had hoped it was another Jedi but… it seems I was wrong.”

“It worked?” Avayla says with amazement growing on her face. Avayla bows slightly. “I am Avayla Va-koth. I am a Shaper from Kro Var. I am in search of a Jedi to teach me the ways of the Force.”

“Oh yes, I’ve heard of your people. Master Plo once spoke of your kind. He said that you dwell dangerously close to the dark side.”

“The dark side?” Avayla says slowly not understanding.

“There are two sides of the Force. The dark side and the light. The Jedi pull form the light while the Sith pull from the dark,” The General explains. Rex mentally kicked himself realizing that should have been lesson number one. “As I’m sure Rex has told you, the Jedi are no more. Even if there are others out there, they may not be willing to teach you.”

“Why not?”

“Because teaching someone who already treads so close to the dark side could lead them on the path of the Sith.” The General explains. Avayla frowns with a jab of her staff into the sand.

“But I am not seeking power. I am seeking peace and understanding!” She says with anger growing on her face.

“It is not impossible for someone who has traveled down the dark side to come to the light. But it is not easy.” The General sighs not giving Avayla much relief. They stand in relative silence while the General thinks. “Rex, a moment?”

Rex follows the General away from Avayla who begins to pace frustratedly. When they are down the hill and on the soft sands of the valley the General stops.

“Sir?” Rex says after a moment.

“How long have you known this woman?” The General asks while gazing out at the landscape.

“Only a day, Sir. It was lucky she found me when she did. For me too, she ended up saving my life.” Rex explains. General Kenobi laughs.

“Rex, don’t you know by now that there is no such thing as luck?” General Kenobi smiles at him. Rex rubs the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I remember you saying that on a few occasions.” He chuckles. The General turns back to look at the desert.

“For whatever reason, the Force put you two on a path together. Where it leads, I do not know. I feel that there is good in her but there is also fear and hate. She could become a great Jedi with the right training. Unfortunately, I am unwilling and unable to teach her. I have my own training and obligations that I must dedicate myself to.” General Kenobi says. 

“I understand, Sir,” Rex says softly. “Is there no one else? Are all the Jedi really gone?”

The General does not answer. He keeps his eyes out on the horizon. Rex looks down swallowing the knot in his throat.

“Now that the old Jedi Order is gone it may well be individuals like her who are to rebuild what we once lost,” The General says softly before meeting Rex’s eyes. “I am glad you survived old friend.”

“You as well, General.” Rex says making the General wince.

“You can stop calling me that you know? The war is over. I am no longer a General and you are no longer a soldier. I believe it is time we learn to move on.” The General says patting Rex on the shoulder. He begins walking away.

“Gen—Sir, wait,” Rex says stepping forward. The General looks back at him. “The clones… did any… are any like me? Did Cody…? Did General Skywalker make it out?”

There is a suffocating silence between them as General Kenobi looks down. Rex squeezes his hands into tight fists feeling them begin to shake.

“Move on Rex,” He says turning away. Rex wants to throw up and scream. Rex really was alone. Rex could feel his thoughts turning dark when the General calls out. “Oh, and one more thing!”

Rex lifts his head.

“If we ever happen to see each other again it may be in both our best interests to pretend like this little meeting never happened,” The General calls back while continuing to walk away. “You’re a free man, Rex. Settle down, find a wife, and start to build a life of your own!”

Rex watches the General walk away for a moment longer forcing his mind to stay blank. Forcing the dark thoughts down. When he’s ready he turns back up the hill to Avayla. She’s still pacing muttering to herself in a language Rex didn’t recognize. When she see’s him she stops and walks towards him.

“Well? Is he going to train me? Where is he?” She asks with eyes searching for the General. Rex stays silent while walking towards his ship. He reaches inside the cockpit and pulls out his helmet. He hasn’t worn his armor in an attempt to blend with the locals. If he was being honest with himself it was also because he didn’t want to see it. He didn’t want anything that would remind him of the past. He rubs his thumb over the visor staring at his reflection. Avayla stands next to him.

“Are you okay?” She asks. Rex puts his visor back in his ship before walking to his matt to start rolling it up.

“Yeah, I’ll be alright,” He says. “The General can’t teach you and I feel if we stay here any longer, we could cause trouble for him. We need to leave.”

“What? Why?” she asks stepping in front of him when he starts towards his ship. He frowns and narrows his eyes at her.

“I didn’t ask specifics.” Rex says walking around her.

“Why wouldn’t you? You’re supposed to find me a Jedi Master. One falls in our laps and you do not even try to convince him to train me?” She says with her voice rising. Rex grinds his teeth before turning to face her.

“I don’t have to do _anything_ ,” He growls at her. “I don’t follow orders form you. I agreed to help you find a living Jedi. I found one. It’s not my fault he didn’t want to train you!”

Avayla’s eyes fill with rage. Fire sparks from her hands but Rex doesn’t back down. She turns away to grab the few belongings she has. She says something in her language before slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“I don’t need this.” She mutters walking past Rex.

“What, you’re just going to walk back to town?” Rex snorts.

“This is winter compared to my home planet!” She yells back at him still walking.

“Yeah, well, good riddance!” Rex yells crossing his arms. She lifts her hand up while walking with only her middle finger up. Rex curses under his breath while he finishes gathering his things. It takes him awhile before he has everything loaded into the ship and before the ship can properly start. Rex was never much of a pilot despite General Skywalker being one of the best pilots in the army. Oddball was always much better then Rex. Rex had managed to beat the ship up pretty good since flying it. When the ship does finally take off it doesn’t take long before he finds Avayla walking through the sand. Rex lowers the ship enough so when he passes her, he covers her in sand. He’s not proud of himself for that but it did put a smile on his face. He begins to lean back in the pilot chair to relax before the ship begins to make a noise and smoke bursts from the engine.

“No!” Rex yells when it begins to putter before finally falling to the sand. Rex rests his forehead on the steering containing his anger before mumbling under his breath and climbing out of the ship. With no shade Rex was feeling the full-blown heat from the two suns. He wipes the sweat from his brown while trying to fix the smoking engine. After a few minutes of denial, he finally accepts that he will never get the ship running without a few parts. He slides into the small amount of shade provided from the ship staring out at the endless desert. When he finally musters the will to get to his feet, he gathers his things to prepare for his journey into town on foot. When he has everything he owns slung on his back, a laugh startles him.

“Oh great.” Rex grumbles turning to see Avayla has caught up to him. She gives him an evil grin. She’s coated in sand with obvious streaks of sweat from her forehead all the way down to her chin. Rex returns the hand gesture she gave him before starting towards town. They walk near each other but definitely not with each other. They trudge through the soft sand for hours. Both are panting and drenched in their own sweat. Rex tilts his flaks up taking the last few drops he has left. He doesn’t bother asking Avayla for any already knowing she’s out. Avayla’s pace has started to slow with Rex moving further ahead. After making it up one particularly large sand dune Rex looks back at Avayla barely able to make her out in the distance. He almost feels bad for her but even the heat could not make him forget his anger.

After hours of walking through the desert Rex can finally see the town. He wipes the ridiculous amount of sweat and sand from his brow forcing himself to keep going. Being so close and so exhausted he has to tell himself that he will rent a speeder, so he won’t have to walk all the way back to his ship. Of course, that’s only assuming he doesn’t blow his remaining credits on the parts he needs just to get his ship running again. While walking he keeps his head down in an attempt to keep the sandy wind form his eyes. When he finally does lift his head, he can make out a speeder coming his way. He doesn’t hesitate to dive behind a sand dune before it reaches him. He can make out a group of stormtroopers onboard. He lets out a sigh of relief when they don’t even slow when they pass. He brushes off the excess sand and starts for the town again.

It’s the sound of a blaster echoing through the desert that stops him. He turns back where the speeder went. Where Avayla is. He shakes his head.

“She can take care of herself.” He tells himself before forcing himself back on his path to town. A woman’s scream followed by a series of blasts comes from her direction. Rex stops and groans while slowly turning to look back. Flashes of fire appear in the distance followed by the sounds of more blasters. Rex looks at the town and back at the direction where Avayla and the stormtroopers are and back again. He lets out an aggravated growl before running back towards Avayla.

By the time Rex can reach the chaos he is stumbling over his own feet exhausted. He reminds himself that he has been in worse conditions then this with way more droids firing at him. Course that was with the 501st at his back and two Jedi fighting beside him but he digresses. Six stormtroopers spread out firing at Avayla. She hides behind a rock firing blasts of fire but is exhausted with the fire barely reaching the troopers. Rex is frozen. His hands and legs are shaking and not from the endless walking and dehydration. He tries to draw his blasters, but he can’t pull the trigger. He’s gasping for air from both the exhaustion and fear building in his chest. Jesse’s voice rings in his ears. _You are a traitor_. He swallows the vomit creeping up his throat and squeezes his eyes shut. Avayla screams when a trooper hits her shoulder. He opens his eyes putting his blasters away. He cannot fire on his brothers. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t kick their asses.

Rex charges at the unsuspecting troopers tackling one and causing another to fall hitting his head. Rex pulls his fists back landing a punch so hard it cracked the trooper’s helmet. The other troopers notice Rex turning their fire onto him. Rex makes a run for the rock Avayla hides behind.

“Rex?” She gasps with her right-hand clutching at her left shoulder.

“Hi.” He breaths with his entire body trembling. He could feel the panic attack rising.

“What are you doing here?” Avayla asks before grabbing her staff and swinging it sending a strong gust of wind at a trooper.

“To be honest I don’t really know! Didn’t think this through.” Rex almost laughs from the amount of panic building in his chest. Avayla rests with her back to the rock wincing at her shoulder. She’s just as exhausted as Rex. Rex reaches for one of his blasters and hands it to Avayla. “Here, try hitting them with this. It’s not like I can use it.”

Avayla takes his blaster inspecting it for a moment before firing at the troopers. She misses every shot and growls with frustration. They sit with their backs pressed to the stone. Both think desperately on what to do. Avayla can only keep the troopers back for so long. In the midst of their thinking a grenade plops in the sand between them. Before Rex can react Avayla pushes Rex back with a burst of wind sending him flying. He tumbles through the sand before looking up in time to see the explosion.

“No!” He screams before shielding his face from the sand spraying in all directions. The firing stops. Rex squints into the smoke while getting to his feet. When Avayla’s form emerges from the explosion Rex falls to his knees relieved. Fire burns from her hands while she walks out from behind the rock and in the center of the stormtroopers. They are frozen from the shock of seeing someone walk out away from a grenade blast. She lifts her hands up and when she brings them down, she lets out a fiery explosion of her own. Rex shields his face again. It was like she had absorbed the blast from the grenade and sent it back on the troopers. Rex lifts his head to see the stormtroopers burnt to a crisp. Avayla falls to the sand from exhaustion. Rex forces himself to his feet and runs to her side.

“Hey, you okay?” He asks shaking her shoulders gently. She moans before opening her eyes. He helps her sit up minding her wounded shoulder. She blinks a few times getting her vision to focus before staring up at Rex.

“Why did you come back?” She asks squinting up at him.

“I don’t know,” He says honestly. “You were in trouble. I couldn’t just ignore that.”

Her head falls back when she slips into unconsciousness. Rex scoops her into his arms and carries her to the shade of the speeder. He lays her down against the speeder before hopping inside in search for a water flask. When he finds one, he hops back out and presses it to her lips. She drinks desperately. When she’s able to sit up on her own Rex takes a gulp for himself. They sit in the shade passing the flask of water back and forth.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Avayla says after a while. Rex looks at her. “I don’t know a thing about this planet or any of the others. I can’t do this alone, and I need help. I’m sorry for how I acted back at the camp. After you told me that all the Jedi are dead, I began to panic. I was scared that I left my home and my people for nothing. And when that Jedi appeared that fear went away and there was hope.”

“To be honest? I don’t know what I’m doing either,” Rex confesses. “I’ve never been out on my own. Never done anything or went anywhere without being ordered to. I’m wondering around the galaxy lost. When I saw General Kenobi, I felt that hope too. But… there is none. The Jedi are gone. They are all gone.”

Avayla reaches out and places a hand on Rex’s.

“You carry a great pain.” She says. Rex pulls his hand away not meeting her eyes.

“If General Kenobi made it out then others might have too. Someone has to be out there,” Rex thinks of Ahsoka. Where is she? Is she safe? Is she hiding? But more then that he thinks of Jesse, Fives, Tup, Echo, and so many others. “Look, I’ll keep helping you find a living Jedi who will agree to train you _if_ you help me save a few of my brothers from the Empire.”

“I will try.” She says meeting his eyes. He extends his hand, and they shake on it. Rex gets to his feet and helps Avayla up.

“We’ll need to get off this planet first. My ship needs a few parts if we’re going to go anywhere.” Rex explains. He helps her into the speeder and hops in beside her.

“I suppose it was lucky of the troopers to find me. Now we do not have to walk to town and back.” Avayla says while relaxing against the seat. Rex gives a small smirk.

“Don’t you know?” He says starting the speeder. “There’s no such thing as luck.”

  



	4. The Reckless

Returning to town on a stolen speeder previously owned by 6 missing stormtroopers wasn’t an ideal situation. Rex is forced to park the speeder behind an abandoned building far enough away from anything convenient. They keep their hoods up and heads down while staying as far away from the stormtroopers as possible. They were both dehydrated and shaky from walking through the desert that they were forced to stop in the shade of a tent for a breather.

“I hate this planet.” Avayla breaths with hair sticking to her face as she plops to the ground panting. Rex nods in agreement while sliding to the sand next to her giving his legs a rest.

“We need water.” Rex says after a minute of heavy breathing. He musters the last of his strength to get to his feet. He helps Avayla up before leading her towards the well. Water wasn’t cheap here and it would take most of their credits. Rex was already trying to think of some aggressive negotiations for the parts for his ship when they approach the square. It’s bustling with people and children but at the moment no stormtroopers. People stand to the sides trying to sell their various things while kids run through the crowds. Rex and Avayla stick close before getting in line for water. When it’s finally their turn Rex pays the well man for two flasks of water. They swallow with dry mouths at the sound of the water filling their flasks. He was so focused on the water that he almost didn’t notice the absence of children’s laughter and could no longer feel the eager shoving from the people behind him in line. The man shakily hands them their flasks. When Rex hands the man his credits he grabs them and darts off through an alley. Avayla narrows her eyes already aware that they were surrounded. Rex took a drink of the water before slowly turning to face the stormtroopers.

As if he had been turned to stone Rex couldn’t move. His flask slips from his hand spilling into the sand at his feet. His hands and legs tremble with knuckles turning white. Avayla takes her staff in her hand tired, but ready for a fight. Rex tried everything to stop the shaking, but it was uncontrollable. Avayla notices that Rex is worse then usual.

“Rex?” She whispers with eyes full of concern. Rex couldn’t speak. His mouth is clenched shut. He watches the clone troopers with grey and white markings surround them. They part in the middle for their Commander to walk forward. He carries his helmet under his left arm with his familiar scowl aimed at Rex. He stops a few feet away letting the courtyard fall silent.

“This isn’t a good look for you, Captain,” Wolffe says with his eyes glancing to the side. Rex couldn’t speak. He could only stand there a shaking mess. Wolffe sets his jaw with his hands tightening into fists. “This isn’t how I wanted this to happen.”

Rex forces a trembling hand to grab Avayla’s arm. She looks at him alarmed.

“ _Run._ ” He says through gritted teeth. She frowns wanting to protest or to remind him that she _does not run_ but she could see the fear in his eyes. She presses her lips together nodding. Wolffe lifts his head towards Rex. Rex can see the pain behind Wolffe’s one good eye. He didn’t want to do this. But he would because he has to. Life as a trooper was simple. Achieve the objective, protect your commander, protect the unit, protect yourself. In that order. And right now, Rex was the objective.

“CT-7567 you are a traitor to the Empire and are to be executed upon sight,” Wolffe says looking away before walking back towards his men. Rex squeezes Avayla’s arm as Wolffe slips his helmet on. He turns his head over his shoulder before giving the command. “Fire.”

Avayla swings her staff with a gust of wind knocking up a wave of sand onto the Wolfpack. She grabs Rex’s arm and pulls him down an alley. His movements were stiff and clumsy. Every alarm in his body is going off. He has to keep running. He doesn’t bother trying to pull his blasters out knowing he wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger. He can hear the Wolfpack behind him. Rex always found it odd that someone as calm and collective as General Plo could have one of the most vicious units. He used to enjoy watching the fear spread of the Wolfpacks victims. He supposed this was karma.

“Shipyard!” Rex yells finally regaining some control over his body. There was no hope of getting to his ship and off planet now. They would have to steal a ship if they were going to make it to another day. Avayla pulls Rex down the main street. The Wolfpack doesn’t seem to be firing into the crowds. Not wanting to hit innocent bystanders, it seems. Rex is relieved they’ve kept some part of their old selves. Pain explodes in the back of his head forcing him to fall forward into the sand. He rubs the back of his head to see bright red blood smeared onto his hand. A blaster had been thrown into the back of his head. The suns are blacked out for a moment before Rex realizes Wolffe has leaped towards him. He rolls away before climbing to his feet but not before Wolffe can grab his leg pulling him down. They tumble through the streets. Rex shields his head the best he can but Wolffe’s punches are solid. He grits his teeth sucking in air from the pain. Avayla swings her staff hitting Wolffe in the gut sending him flying onto a roof and into Wildfire.

“Let’s go!” She yells pulling Rex to his feet. He keeps running ignoring his bruised body and aching head. Avayla keeps a tight grip on his arm to keep him going. He felt so useless. He shakes his head keeping his mind clear of dark thoughts. Now wasn’t the time. They make it to the shipyard relatively unscathed before the Wolfpack opens fire. There weren’t many bystanders in the yard. Rex see’s a man walking up a lowered ship ramp and makes a beeline for the ship. He grabs the man by the back of his collar and throws him into the sand.

“Hey, what…” The man starts to yell until he see’s the Wolfpack. The man darts under a ship for safety. Rex felt bad about stealing his ship but not bad enough to stop himself. He runs to the cockpit and starts the ship up. When Avayla is seated in the copilot chair and the ramp is closed he lifts the ship up surprised at how well its standing under heavy fire. When he turns it around facing the Wolfpack Rex felt the panic building inside him again. Wolffe stands in a group of his men before they part for Boost walking with a rocket launcher resting on his shoulder. He kneels aiming for their commandeered ship. 

“Shit, shit, _shit_!” Rex curses through clenched teeth while trying to pull the ship up. He manages to dodge the shot, but the blast knocks the ship forward. Rex tightens his grip on the steering before aiming off planet and getting hell away from Tatooine.

When they’re out of the atmosphere Rex stares out at the endless space. Of all the planets out there, he couldn’t think of a single one to go to. He points the ship straight and puts it on autopilot. He can’t think with blood dripping down his back. He starts rummaging through their stolen ship for medical supplies. The ship was small but a good size. It had four bedrooms and a kitchen. It had guns controlled in the cockpit and below the ship. Rex climbs down to the storage space and digs through the junk until he can find a med pack.

“Whoever this ship belonged to was a slob.” Avayla mutters when she stumbles upon the kitchen. Dirty dishes pile in the sink with empty food wrappers scattered all about. Rex joins her in the kitchen placing the med pack on the dirty table. He tries to clean his wound himself before Avayla takes the cloth from his hand and begins cleaning it for him. He sits still with his eyes focused on the crumbs on the floor. After a moment of silence between them Avayla speaks. “So, I’m assuming those weren’t _shinnies_?”

“No.” Rex says softly. Avayla finishes cleaning his wound. Rex hands her a bacta pad to place on the back of his head. She stares at it confused but puts it on his head all the same. He stands motioning for her to sit. “You’re shoulder. It’s still hurting. We should but a bacta pad on it too.”

She doesn’t argue and pushes her shirt off her left shoulder letting Rex examine the wound. Blaster wounds don’t bleed as much. It mostly burns like hell and kills the nerves. He places a bacta pad over the wound and pulls her shirt back over her shoulder.

“Thank you.” She says softly. Rex nods before standing. He walks back to the cockpit and sits in the pilot chair. Avayla sits next him. He can feel her eyes staring.

“You knew those men.” She says. Rex nods still looking out.

“I should actually congratulate you,” He sighs after a moment. Avayla raises an eyebrow at him. “You actually managed to find Commander Wolffe.”

She stares at him confused before her eyes grow wide understanding.

“ _That_ was Commander Wolffe?” she asks with her mouth slightly agape. Rex chuckles.

“Yeah, and that was his Wolfpack. The 104th. General Plo Koons battalion.” Rex says watching Avayla slide down in her chair.

“He would have killed me on sight.” She whispers to herself. She looks at him. “I don’t like him.”

“He wasn’t always like that,” Rex starts before adding. “Well actually, yeah he was.”

“So,” Avayla says shifting in her seat. “Where are we going now?”

Rex opens his mouth and closes it again.

“I… I don’t know,” He breaths before shaking his head and repeating. “I don’t know.”

“At times when my people are lost, we pray to our ancestors to guide us to where we need to be,” Avayla says staring out at the stars. “I could pray to them, but I am afraid they will not hear me after breaking Shaper law and leaving my home without permission.”

“I’m willing to try anything.” Rex shrugs. Avayla shifts in her seat until she is sitting cross-legged. She sits up straight and closes her eyes whispering in her language praying to her ancestors. Rex watches silently waiting. After a moment, she falls silent before her eyes open.

“I know where to go.” She whispers. Rex punches in the coordinates she gives and goes into lightspeed. He almost immediately regrets just blindly punching in coordinates when he realizes where she was taking them.

“No, no, _no_.” he moans falling back in his chair.

“What? What’s wrong?” Avayla asks confused. Rex stares at the red planet sure this is some kind of sick joke.

“This is Umbara,” he says gesturing to the planet before them. “Of all the places your ancestors could tell us to go this is the one they chose?”

“I cannot control the ancestors! What is wrong with this place anyway?” Avayla says frowning.

“I would much rather go back to Tatooine then go here.” Rex says staring at the shithole before them. Avayla reaches out placing a hand on his arm.

“Rex, this is where we are meant to go. Please, trust me.” She says staring into his eyes. He presses his lips together growling deep in his throat before grinding his teeth and reluctantly steering the ship towards Umbara.

There were few places Rex considered more hopelessly awful then Tatooine. Umbara was one of them. It was a place Rex vowed to never return to. And yet here he was lowering their ship to the Umabra surface. He rests his forehead against the steering mentally preparing himself to face the planet again. More than that, though, they were close to the airbase he took while under General Krell’s command. He had managed to keep the dark thoughts at bay on Tatooine. Here it was like the damn holding his thoughts back burst open flooding his mind. He could hear the sounds of distant blasters. Screams from his men. Flashes of Hardcase burns into his mind. He had fought beside Hardcase for a long time. This is where he died. Because Rex couldn’t see though General Krell until it was to late. Until Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase felt they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands resulting into loosing Hardcase forever. He squeezes his eyes shut refusing to let one tear fall.

“Rex,” Avayla says pulling him back to the present. “Are you alright?”

No.

“Yes.” He says sitting up. “Let’s go.”

He leaves the cockpit to lower the ramp. He keeps his hands in tight fists in an attempt to hide his shaking. Avayla follows him out of the ship and into the Umbara wilderness.

“Any idea where to go?” Rex asks flatly. Avayla stares out at the dark terrain and nods. Rex walks cautiously through the forests. Avayla points where to go but he leads the way. She follows what he does. When he steps over the vines, she does the same. She can feel the tension in Rex. Umbara is just as he remembered it. Soft damp earth beneath his feet. The air just cold enough to send a chill down your spine. Dark all the time with only bioluminescent plants for light. There were moments he felt he was back on Umbara with the 501st. But he wasn’t. It was too quiet. That times is over now.

When they approach the airbase, she points up at a tree. They climb up allowing them to peek inside the base. Its lousy with stormtroopers. Rex clenches his jaw at all the security surrounding the base. He looks over at Avayla who stares towards the front of the base near the front gate. She narrows her eyes and leans forward.

“What is that?” she asks pointing towards the pole. Rex squints at where she points. It appeared to be a person tied towards the top of a pole. But not any person. A clone. He was still in his armor with his helmet perched at the top. Rex quickly fumbles for his scopes. He peers through them trying to make out the markings. Blue markings are painted over the white phase ll armor.

“That’s one of my men,” He whispers through the scopes. He slowly lowers them with rage burning through his blood. “That’s a member of the 501st. One of _my_ men!”

He puts his scope away and slides down from the tree. He starts running towards the base when Avayla leaps through the air and pushes him out of the way before a spotlight can scan over where he was standing.

“Calm down!” she hisses.

“Calm down? That’s my man up there! Strung up like some kind of animal!” he yells with shoulders rising with ever breath. Avayla places her hands on his shoulders meeting his eyes.

“We’ll get him down. I promise. But charging in like that isn’t going to work.” She says in a calm tone. He looks away trying to ease the burning rage inside him. She was right. Rex closes his eyes taking a deep breath. After a long exhale he opens his eyes and nods.

“Okay.” He says. Avayla pats his shoulder before removing her hands. They make their way towards the main gate dodging the spotlights and staying out of sight from the patrols. The closer they got to the gate the more Rex had to control his anger. This was the first time he had ever wanted to open fire on his brothers. He wondered if he would have trouble pulling the trigger this time. They stay low behind some vegetation near the main gate. It’s guarded with patrols marching in and out. Rex closes his eyes taking in another deep breath. He opens his eyes on the exhale before motioning Avayla to follow his lead. He makes his way to the corner the patrols take when out of sight from the main gate. When two stormtroopers were heading back towards the main gate Rex steps out behind them. He clears his throat loudly startling them before turning to face Rex.

“Hello there.” Rex grins. Avayla jumps out of the bushes swinging her staff knocking them out before they can raise their blasters.

“Idiots.” Avayla says jabbing her staff on the road. They drag the troopers into the bushes before pulling their armor on. Rex and Avayla twitch and fidget in the uncomfortable gear. Rex starts to step out onto the road when he hears a crash behind him. He whips around expecting trouble only to find Avayla wiggling on the ground trying to get up from walking into a branch. “I can’t see shit in these things!”

“Good,” Rex chuckles taking her hand helping her up. “Maybe that means they won’t be able to see your armor is too big.”

She gives a grunt before walking beside him. He elbows her to walk in step. She stares at their feet skipping ever now and then to try and match his steps. He sighs with the shake of his head. When they get to the main gate, he holds his breath but the one guarding the gate waves them through. Rex lets out a sigh of relief. When they are inside, he leads Avayla towards the pole. He stares at the dangling body of his brother feeling the fire burning in his chest. He picks up his pace until they finally reach the pole. He pulls his helmet off to try and get a better look at the man strung up.

“I can’t tell who it is,” He whispers squinting up. “Do you think you can…”  
Avayla leaps into the air before he can finish asking. She clings to the pole before reaching up and tossing down the helmet first. Rex catches it while trying to make sure they haven’t been noticed first. She starts to undo the restraints on the man. Rex looks down at the helmet. His stomach drops.

“This makes no sense…” He whispers running his hand over the markings.

“Here he comes!” Avayla calls softly. Rex sets the helmet down opening his arms. He catches his brother falling to the ground hard. He moans but shakes the pain off sitting up to get a good look at the clone’s face.

“Dogma,” Rex says softly having no doubt seeing the V tattoo across his left eye. “Dogma, can you hear me?”

Dogma’s eyes open before his eyes roll back and close again. He’s incredibly thin and malnourished. He’s been up there for a long time. There were scars from banshees who probably saw him as an easy meal. His hair has grown out in a matted mess and unkept beard. Rex presses his forehead to Dogma’s.

“I’ve got you brother.” He whispers.

“Rex, we’ve got company!” Avayla yells jumping down from the pole. She pulls the helmet off her head tossing it at the approaching stormtroopers. Rex grabs Dogma’s helmet slipping it on his brother’s head before scooping his brother in his arms.

“Avayla,” Rex says. She looks back meeting his eyes. “Burn it to the ground.”

She turns back raising her hands before bringing them down shooting waves of fire at the charging stormtroopers. Rex turns towards the main gate feeling the heat against his back. Screams echo through the valley. With Avayla causing so much chaos and destruction behind him the stormtroopers guarding the gate barely notice him carrying Dogma out. He stares forward feeling a calm wash over him. Avayla races to his side.

“We should move.” She says keeping her eye out for chasing stormtroopers. Rex throws Dogma on his back letting him run through the forest. Explosions light up the dark Umbaran landscape. They can hear the remaining stormtroopers running after them. Despite running through a hostile terrain from chasing stormtroopers Rex was still amazed Avayla managed to set an entire airbase on fire in the matter of seconds. When they reach their ship, Rex runs through first. He opens the room closes to the cockpit on the right and lays Dogma down being careful with his head. Dogma lets out a soft moan.

“We’re getting you out Dogma. Hold on a little longer.” Rex whispers before running out of the room for the cockpit. He slides into the pilot chair with Avayla falling into the copilot chair beside him. Rex lifts the ship up before turning the guns at the following stormtroopers. He lights up the landscape. Avayla stares at him for a moment before resting back in her chair. When he can no longer make out the white armor, he flies the ship off planet.

He tightens his grip on the steering with a deep frown.

“Are you alr—”

“I’m fine.” He snaps before blinking and shaking his head and repeating softly. “I’m… I’m fine.” 

“Your brother needs a healer.” Avayla says carefully. Rex nods while rocking forward as he thought.

“Medical ships… there were medical ships everywhere before. But most are under Empire rule,” Rex thinks out loud. “Except the one in the Alderaan system!”

He punches in the coordinates and goes lightspeed. He pushes himself up to check on Dogma. He walks inside and kneels beside him. He starts pulling the hard armor off his brother trying to make it more comfortable for him. Rex sits on the edge of the bed before gently turning Dogma’s head to see if his chip had been removed. There was no sign that it had. Rex leaves his brother to rest before taking his seat again before pulling the ship out of light speed. When the medical ship comes into view Rex reaches out through the coms.

“Hello, one of our men is in critical condition and needs medical help right away. Requesting permission to dock.” Rex says holding his breath until they respond.

“What is your ship identification number?” a man asks over the com. Avayla and Rex share a confused stare.

“I’m sorry? Look I have a man on bored who…”  
“We have to log something in for your ship. What’s the name of your ship?” The man cuts him off.

Rex opens his mouth before closing it. He looks at Avayla who shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head. Rex pinches the bridge of his nose before speaking.

“Uh… the Reckless. We’re the Reckless.” He says giving the first thing that pops into his head. Avayla smacks his arm. He gives her a look that makes her roll her eyes.

“Alright… _Reckless_ you are clear to bored.” The man says. Rex starts preparing the ship to dock.

“The Reckless?” Avayla snorts.

“I said the first thing that came to my head! It’s not like you were coming up with anything.” Rex mutters pulling the ship into the docking bay.

“Last time I let you name something.” Avayla mumbles with a chuckle. Rex ignores her while walking to grab Dogma. He carries his brother out where a medical team waits with a gurney.

“What’s wrong with him?” A doctor asks.

“He’s extremely malnourished but I’m not sure about what other wounds he might have,” Rex says following the medical team as they push Dogma further into the medical ship. “He does have a tumor.”

The doctor stops to stare at Rex. He points at where the inhibitor chip is in Dogma’s head.

“It’ll be there. It may take a few scans, but I swear its there.” Rex says praying the doctor believed him. She looks uneasy but jots it down on the datapad she carries.

“You can wait in waiting room 3. We will come get you when he’s ready.” She says leaving him in a hallway. Rex stands there feeling helpless. Adrenaline runs through him but he’s unable to do anything. Avayla stands next to him watching the team disappear with Dogma behind a pair of doors. She takes his arm leading him down the hall towards waiting room 3. It’s halfway full of others waiting on news of loved ones. She guides him to a pair of open seats near a big window. They sit but Rex can’t keep himself still. He first taps his foot uncontrollably before getting to his feet to pace.

“He’ll be alright, Rex.” Avayla says to him but he shakes his head.

“How do you know? Who knows what they did to him,” Rex says with eyes glued to the floor as he paced. His breathing was becoming rapid. “Why was he even there? He wasn’t supposed to be there! Last I heard they had decided to send him to jail for a short sentence before letting him back into the army. _Why was he there_?”

“Hey,” Avayla stands cutting his pacing off. She puts her hands on his shoulders forcing him to meet her eyes. “Rex, breathe. You’ve done everything you can for him.”

“What if its not enough?” he whispers. He feels his body begin to shake like in combat. A knot forms in his throat with his vision blurring. He turns his face away frowning. She gently turns his face back towards hers.

“Then you have already done more for him than anyone else has in a long time.” She says with big golden eyes shining up at him. He drops his head nodding trying to hide his emotion. She takes his hand leading him back to their seats. They sit in silence with Avayla still holding Rex’s hand. Waiting was agony. Every time Rex would begin to grow antsy Avayla would squeeze his hand in hers grounding him. After an hour has passed with no word Rex was beginning to feel the full weight of exhaustion from the day. Avayla’s head bobbed as she fought off sleep. Rex’s eyes were growing heavier by the minute. Eventually Avayla succumbs to sleep with her head falling on Rex’s shoulder. Her body radiated warmth making Rex relax deeper into his chair. He slowly rests his head on top of Avayla’s before losing the battle with sleep.

When a medical droid taps Rex’s shoulder he jolts away. Avayla and Rex both jump to their feet before the droid can even speak.

“The doctor is requesting you.” The droid says before leading them out of the waiting room and down the hall. Rex feels his heart racing. When the droid leads them to Dogma’s room Rex feels like he’s about to step into a warzone. Instead, he’s greeted with a quiet room with only the sounds of the beeping of the heart monitor. The doctor smiles at Rex but he can’t take his eyes off Dogma. Avayla motions Rex to go on while she steps towards the doctor. Rex slowly walks towards his brother with clenched fists. He lowers himself onto a stool beside the bed. They’ve shaved his head and beard off, but it was still Dogma. He looked smaller than before. His collar bones more prominent and shoulders bonier than round. Rex reaches out to touch his arm.

“Captain?” Dogma’s voice was hoarse and small. Rex lets out a small gasp as if had been holding his breath the entire time. He stands so he can sit on the edge of the bed letting Dogma see him without turning his head.

“Hey, kid.” He says putting a hand on Dogma’s shoulder.

“Where am I?” he asks groggily.

“Safe,” Rex says softly with a gently squeeze of his shoulder. “You’re safe.”

Avayla walks over after speaking with the doctor.

“She says he’ll be fine. They were able to remove the tumor like you said. He just needs some rest and food.” Avayla says with a soft smile. A wave of relief washes over Rex. Dogma was going to be alright. He was alive and out of the Empires clutches. He was safe.

Rex didn’t have much credits left. Luckily, he was able to find some valuables onboard the ship to cover the medical bill. Dogma had fallen back into unconsciousness by the time they had released him. Rex tucks him into his bed onboard the Reckless before leaving him to rest. When he pulls the ship out from the docking bay he weirdly knows exactly where to go. He punches in the coordinates and goes light speed.

“Where are we going now?” Avayla asks taking her seat beside him.

“There’s a remote planet covered in small islands.” Rex says.

“Sounds like a dream.” Avayla yawns. “How’d you find out about a planet like that?”

“Oh, well General Skywalker would often have ship troubles when he traveled with Senator Amidala and usually found his way there…” Rex says before clearing his throat. “I was the one he would call for a pickup.”

“Well,” Avayla says standing. “I’m going to finally wash all this sand and sweat off me.”

Rex nods before she disappears into the ship bathroom. When he pulls the ship out of lightspeed, Scarif is in view. He lowers the ship down to a small remote island. When the ship is grounded, he rests his head back with a tired sigh. Pushing himself out of his seat he walks over to Dogma’s room. He peeks inside to see him still passed out. No signs of distress. Only sleep. When he hears Avayla exit the bathroom and disappear into the room farthest from the cockpit on the left, Rex decides it was time he showered too.

After a long and well-deserved shower Rex felt more refreshed than he had in a long time. He walks out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He walks into the kitchen in search of food. All he’s managed to find is a few pieces of fruit and crackers. He shoves one of the fruits in his mouth and takes a bowl of crackers. When he turns around to finally pick a room for himself, he nearly chokes on the fruit at the sight of Avayla standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Sorry to spook you.” She chuckles. Her hair is still wet from her shower. It rests over her left shoulder. She wears a pair of soft pants several sizes too large for her, so she’s tied the excess near her hip. A shirt also much to large for her slips off her left shoulder showing a small scar from her blaster wound.

“No, it’s fine.” He coughs taking the fruit from his mouth. He gestures to the left-over fruit and crackers. “It seems this is all the food on the ship.”

“That is a problem,” she sighs walking over to the counter to examine the fruit. “But for tomorrow. It’ll do for tonight.”

Rex starts for the rooms before he pauses. He turns back towards Avayla.

“Thank you.” He says. She looks up at him after taking a bite of the fruit.

“For what?” She asks with her mouth full.

“For… everything. Especially today.” He says. She tilts her head with a smile.

“Thank you for coming back for me.” She says. He gives her a smile before turning back towards the rooms. He picks the one closes to the cockpit on the left beside Avayla. The room is relatively clean despite the layer of dust on everything. He does a quick wipe down but gives up when his arms feel like noodles. He finds a pair of comfy pants and a shirt that fit surprisingly well before falling into bed. He forces himself to eat the crackers and fruit before sliding underneath the covers and resting his head on the pillow. His body felt heavy and light at the same time. Exhaustion was taking over. Dogma is alive. Avayla has been… trustworthy. Rex is alive. For now, all of this was enough to put Rex at ease to sleep.


	5. Maz Kanata

“Stay back!”

Rex is out of bed and moving towards the door before his body can register that he’s conscious. He slides out of his room to find Dogma on the ship floor holding a knife at Avayla who keeps her hands up. Dogma pushes himself against the ship wall with his hands trembling.

“Easy.” Avayla says slowly backing up. Rex carefully steps towards Dogma. When his eyes land on Rex his body goes still.

“Captain?” He breathes.

“Easy there, Dogma,” Rex says getting closer. He kneels down and reaches for the knife. “We’re not here to hurt you.”

He takes the knife from Dogma and slides it across the floor. Dogma flinches when Rex reaches for him, so he lowers it back down.

“Where am I?” He asks beginning to shake again.

“You’re here on the Reckless with me and Avayla,” Rex says gesturing to Avayla. She gives a soft smile. “We rescued you from the Umbaran airbase. Do you remember?”  
Dogma looks down straining to remember.

“I remember being strung up and then… blurs and loud noises until…” He trails off grabbing his head wincing. Rex carefully reaches forward and places a hand on Dogma’s shoulder. Dogma flinches and searches Rex’s eyes for any sign of ill intent. He feels bony and weak from being malnourished. “You came back for me?”

“Yeah, well, it was Avayla who decided to go there. Dogma, I thought you were sent to Coruscant for trial? What happened?” Rex asks. Dogma drops his head and hugs his arms to himself.

“I was going to be put on trial but then the Chancellor came and said there was no need. He said I would be sent back to Umbara until I received new orders,” Dogma explains. Rex looks over at Avayla who shares his pained expression. “I was put on sanitation duty until Order 66 was declared but… I just kept thinking of General Krell and what he did… I couldn’t tell what was real. I felt _wrong_. So, I dropped my blaster and next thing I know I’m being called a traitor again. They put me on the pole saying it would be a waste of ammo to just shoot me.”

Rex squeezes Dogma’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Dogma.” Rex says squeezing his eyes closed feeling the rage he felt on Umbara stir in his chest. He opens his eyes and slowly gets to his feet. He extends his hand to his brother. “You’re here now and we’ll protect you.”

Dogma cautiously takes Rex’s hand and lets Rex guide him to sit at the table in the kitchen area. They give him some food and water before helping him to the bathroom so he can bathe. When Dogma’s inside the shower Rex doesn’t know what to do with himself. He sits at the table in the kitchen area tapping his foot.

“You okay?” Avayla asks while leaning against a wall.

“I feel like I should be doing something,” He says fidgeting in his seat. “I mean… I can’t believe that we even managed to find and save him. But now that we have… now what?”

“Now we help him get back to the closes thing to normal there is for you guys,” Avayla shrugs walking over to sit next to Rex. “He’ll probably need some time to adjust to everything, but he’ll get there.”

Rex nods before getting to his feet. He walks around the small ship rubbing his sore shoulder where he was shot the other day. His armor saved him from the worst of it, but it still hurt. Avayla raises an eyebrow at him.

“What?” he asks.

“You know what I think will help the both of you?” Avayla says standing. When Rex doesn’t answer she grins. “A _vacation_. And what do you know? It just so happens that we’re on an _island_!”

She starts lowering the ramp down letting in fresh sea air. Dogma steps out of the bathroom with his face shaved and what was left of his hair after the operation shaved down.

“Dogma, want to go check out the beach?” Avayla asks him with a gesture towards the ramp with sun beaming down on it.

“Um…” He says before looking over to Rex.

“You can if you want to.” Rex says. Dogma gives a nod and follows Avayla off the ship. Rex follows behind them with his arms crossed over his chest.

Their small island they resided on had white sandy beaches with crystal clear water. They walk past the few palm trees surrounding the ship to get to the soft sand. Avayla stands by the water letting it knock into her ankles.

“It feels amazing!” She says gesturing for Dogma to try. He hugs his arms to his stomach and shakes his head.

“No uh, I’m good… thanks.” He says softly. Avayla begins walking deeper into the water.

“How you feeling?” Rex asks as he stands next to his brother. Dogma stares down at the sand.

“I’m fine, Captain.” He says making Rex frown.

“I’m not a captain anymore, Dogma. I’m just Rex now. Now tell me how you’re really feeling.” Rex says making Dogma wince.

“Sorry Cap… uh Rex. I’m… I’m glad to be out of Umbara and not have that thing in my head but… I shouldn’t have been the one to be saved.” He says turning his face away from Rex.

“What do you mean?”

“You remember what happened with General Krell. Surely there are, no, there _are_ better men then me who should have been saved.” He says tensing his shoulders.

“Look at me,” Rex says stepping around forcing Dogma to look him in the eye. “The situation on Umbara never should have happened. You are Dogma, part of the 501st. _My_ team! Don’t forget you were the one that pulled the trigger on that traitor Krell. Not me.”

“Yeah, but…”

“No buts. You were a good soldier. You always followed commands to the letter. And in the 501st I can’t begin to explain how much General Skywalker and I appreciated that. Considering how Fives and Jesse acted half the time,” Rex says. Dogma swallows a lump in his throat and looks away. “I couldn’t be more glad to have you here Dogma.”

“Thank you, sir.” Dogma says softly. Rex pats his shoulder before turning so they can both watch Avayla pop her head out of the water coughing. “So, who’s the girl sir?”

“That’s Avayla. She helped me find you. We made a deal together. She helps me save a few clones and I help her find a Jedi Master to train under.” Rex explains. Avayla starts fighting with the waves to get back to land. Rex is starting to question if Avayla can even swim.

“But all the Jedi are gone. How are you going to fulfill your end?” Dogma asks as Avayla stumbles onto the sand.

“I have no idea.” Rex mumbles when She reaches them.

“Well, I’m worn out.” She says while wringing out her hair.

“Gonna need more stamina than that if your gonna train with a Jedi.” Rex smirks. She flips her hair hitting Rex in the face. He gives her a look as she struts back to the ship. Dogma and Rex follow her inside so Dogma can disappear in his room for some rest while Avayla goes to change. Rex stands in the ship taking in the quietness of it all. It made him feel odd. With the 501st it was always loud. Fives and Echo were always getting into trouble. Hardcase didn’t have the word quiet in his vocabulary and Jesse and Kix only egged them on for their own amusement. Tup would usually start out quiet until Fives started corrupting to poor boy. And good old Dogma would be spouting about how much trouble they were going to get into.

“What are you smiling about?” Avayla asks as she walks out of her room. Her hair was now in a high ponytail that draped down her shoulders and back.

“Hm? Oh nothing.” He says crossing his arms. Avayla starts rummaging through the kitchen. 

“Well, it looks like we’re almost out of food.” She says.

“How? We’ve barely had this ship for more than a day.” Rex says checking the kitchen himself. She was right. They only have a few pieces of fruit left.

“They must have been on Tatooine for supplies. We’re going to have to go somewhere to restock.” Avayla says. Rex lifts his hand to his chin as he thinks.

“We’re out of credits. We’re going to have to find a way to make some money.”

“Or we could just keep stealing things?” Avayla grins. Rex gives her a look. “I’m kidding.”

“We could try and sell some of the stuff on board but that could take time...” Rex trails off as he thinks. Avayla sits on the counter watching Rex think it over. “We could try and find some odd jobs I suppose.”

“Hm odd jobs for an odd crew. Sounds perfect!” Avayla says hoping down from the counter. Rex makes his way over to the pilot chair. He preps the ship and begins to take off.

It took a lot of arguing with Avayla on where to go next considering Wolffe was still out there and most of the places Rex could think of were desert planets. Eventually Rex came to the decision to land on Takodana. Avayla had no complaints when they entered the atmosphere and were greeted by vast forests of green. Dogma came out of his room by the time Rex could find a place to land.

“Takodana?” Dogma says unsure. “You sure Captain?”

“I’m sure Dogma.” Rex says but still grabs his blasters. They exit the ship taking in the fresh air.

“So, what’s on this planet? I’m not complaining about being near forests, but I don’t think we’ll get much credits out of these trees.” Avayla chuckles with a hand on her hip.

“There’s a place here Jesse told me about. He said pirates and smugglers frequent here. We might be able to find some work.” Rex explains before starting towards the giant building resting among the trees.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Dogma says when they reach the doors. Rex takes a deep breath before pushing the doors open. Music pours out of the building along with a mixture of odors. Rex couldn’t count all of the different types of creatures walking around the place. When they take a few steps inside the music stops and all eyes are on them.

“You think they know we’re clones?” Dogma mutters under his breath.

“I don’t know, you think it’s from your identical faces or perhaps it’s the clone armor you both wear?” Avayla hisses. Rex clears his throat nervously and starts maneuvering around the staring creatures. The music starts up again and the others return to whatever they were doing before. Rex makes it to the bar and leans against the counter. Dogma and Avayla stand on either side of him. A large creature next to Dogma growls down at him making him inch closer to Rex.

“Easy Dogma. There’s noth…” Rex starts but stops when a small orange woman with big round spectacles stares deeply at Rex from behind the counter. “…ing to be nervous about…”

The orange woman climbs up onto the bar and continues to star at him. Rex leans back slightly looking to Avayla and Dogma who both look as lost as he was. The woman finally leans back.

“Why are you here, _clones_?” the woman asks peering at Avayla and Dogma now.

“We’re not with the Empire,” Rex starts. “We’re just looking for some work.”

The woman narrows her eyes at him.

“This is a neutral territory. I won’t have you disturbing what peace I’ve created here.” She warns.

“As I said, we’re not with the Empire.” Rex repeats but the woman does not look convinced.

“Very well. You may ask around if you like. Find your work and leave.” She says hopping down from the counter and walking away.

“Well, she was friendly.” Avayla mumbles. Rex lets out a tired sigh.

“I think she’s the one that owns this place. Jesse told me about her, Maz Kanata.” Rex says.

“Well, I say we take her advice and find some work and leave.” Dogma says stumbling back to hide behind Rex from the growling creature.

“Alright, lets split up. We’ll cover more ground that way.” Rex says pushing himself away from the bar counter.

They do as Rex says and disperse. Rex tries speaking to two giant toad like men where the only response he could get out of them were a loud belch. After speaking to five different people who had little to no interest in even acknowledging Rex’s existence, he puts his hands on his hips and looks around for the others. Avayla stands in the middle of a group of men who look like they’re on their way to getting roasted alive. Rex steps in her direction to stop her before she sets the whole place on fire until he hears a crash. He turns around to see Dogma backing into a fat man with a Rodian holding a blaster to his throat. Rex groans and starts towards Dogma.

“What’s going on here?” Rex asks stepping between the rodian and Dogma.

“He started it!” Dogma says as Rex pulls him behind his back.

“Your little clone buddy spilled my drink.” The rodian says still aiming his blaster at Dogma.

“Look, I’ll buy you a new one.” Rex says trying to calm the situation.

“With what money?” Dogma asks making Rex give him a look. “… Sorry.”

The rodian nudges Rex’s chin with the end of his blaster. Rex grinds his teeth ready to break the rodian’s arm when Maz pushes the two of them apart.

“I will not have any fighting in my house! At least not after I just had the floors redone.” Maz says breaking the fight up. Rex pats Dogma’s shoulder to reassure him everything was fine before he notices Maz waving him to follow her. He signals Avayla to meet up. She shoves one of the men so hard that he flips over a chair before she starts making her way over. Maz didn’t seem to have a problem with that thankfully. Maz sits at a round table. Rex and the others sit each sharing their own uncertain expression. Maz pushes a plate of fruit at Dogma who cautiously takes it. Maz mumbles something in a language Rex didn’t recognize.

“You will be more trouble than you are worth,” She eventually says. “You want work? Fine. I have a job for you.”

Rex shifts in his chair glancing at Avayla who leans forward intrigued.

“Thank you.” Rex says softly. Maz holds her hand up with the shake of her head.

“I just want you gone.” She says but Rex doesn’t argue. “I need you to retrieve the goona fruit from Teklin.”

Rex frowns not recognizing the fruit or the planet.

“Where is that?” He asks.

“I’ll give you the coordinates. I’ll need at least one crate, but I’ll pay more if you can get more.” She explains.

“How much are you willing to pay for a fruit delivery?” Avayla frowns. Maz gives a snort.

“More than anyone else here is willing to pay you.” She says. Avayla gives a _“that’s fair”_ shrug and leans back in her chair.

“We’ll take it.” Rex says. Maz hands him a datapad with the coordinates. As Rex and the others begin to stand to leave Maz follows them to the door.

“If you aren’t able to get the fruit then don’t bother coming back.” She says watching them leave. Rex nods while leading Avayla and Dogma back to the ship.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Rex mutters to Avayla. She lets out a sigh and pats his shoulder.

“Hey, the upside is that the Reckless got her first job.” She says making Rex laugh.

“Yeah, wishing I would have thought of something besides Reckless now.” He says as they reach the ship.

“Oh, I don’t know sir,” Dogma says while they enter the ship. “I think that sums us up perfectly.”

“I suppose it does.” Rex says taking the pilot chair. Avayla sits in the copilot chair as Dogma pulls the seat down behind her. Rex punches in the coordinates for Teklin ready to start their first job. 


	6. The Fruit Job

“Have you ever been to Teklin?” Avayla asks as they sit through lightspeed.

“I haven’t even heard of it.” Rex confesses. Teklin appeared to be far away from what Maz gave Rex. There was something about this job that didn’t sit right with him.

“What’s wrong?” Avayla asks leaning back in the copilot chair. Rex lifts his hand to his chin.

“She said if we don’t get the fruit then don’t come back.” He says.

“Yeah?”

“So why wouldn’t we get the fruit?” He asks looking over at her. She shrugs her shoulders looking bored.

“I dunno, maybe it’s in a really tall tree or it’s really hard to find.” She says. Rex glances over at Dogma who is just trying to stay awake. He’s still recovering from Umbara. Rex puts both hands on the steering.

“Maybe you’re right.” He mutters but the uneasy feeling doesn’t go away. Rex reaches up and takes them out of lightspeed. The second the ship returns to normal speed Rex realizes why Maz said what she said. Avayla freezes in her seat. A grey planet appeared before them. And around the planet was a fleet of starships.

“By the ancestors…” Avayla breathes. Rex feels his blood run cold when a clone’s voice comes over the communicator.

“You are entering a restricted area. State your business.” The clone says. Avayla and Rex stare at each other unable to utter a word. “You are entering a restricted area. State your business or be shot down.”

“Sorry about that we had some com issues,” Rex says suddenly. Dogma, now awake, stands behind Avayla looking just as horrified as the others if not more so. “I was sent on a scouting mission but I’m back. My Commander should have filled you in.”

Rex winces at his own words and drops his head ready for the inevitable.

“We never got word of a scout being sent out.” The clone says.

“Really? Well, I was just following orders. He’s expecting me back on Teklin.” Rex continues feeling like he was digging his own grave. There is a long pause.

“Yeah… that sounds like something he would do actually. Alright go on. But tell him he has to communicate with the starships from now on!” The clone says making Rex sit up straight. Dogma and Avayla practically fall on the floor relieved.

“I don’t understand. Why would they let us through so easily?” Avayla asks.

“Probably because a clone answered a clone. Me and Rex are probably the only ones to have the chip taken out, so they have no reason to suspect that we’re anything but good soldiers following orders.” Dogma says. Rex makes a face as he carefully steers the ship towards the planet.

“What’s wrong?” Avayla asks.

“Nothing.” he says softly. He carefully enters the planet’s atmosphere. He nearly crashes into a tower while trying to maneuver around the fog.

“What’s going on?” Dogma asks leaning between Rex and Avayla.

“Avayla, you think you can use the Force to make it through this fog? The ship’s scanners are going crazy.” Rex asks jerking the ship to the left after nearly hitting another tower. Avayla closes her eyes. Rex makes another sharp turn nearly knocking Avayla out of her chair.

“I can’t focus with you jerking like that!” She yells when Rex makes another sharp jerk.

“That’s the whole point to you focusing!” Rex yells back before realizing they were about to crash into the planet’s surface. He pulls up hard causing the ship to skid into the dirt. When the ship is fully stopped, they all fall back in their chairs relieved. Rex rubs his face before getting to his feet.

“Dogma, what’s the ships condition?” Rex asks while grabbing his helmet.

“Uh… it took a pretty hard hit, but she should be fine.” He says running a quick diagnostic while looking a little green. Avayla pats his back as she grabs her staff.

“Let’s go find some fruit then.” She says lowering the ship ramp.

“Stay close and be careful. This is Empire territory.” Rex says as Dogma puts his helmet on and follows him off the ship. The topsoil of Teklin is loose nearly making Rex stumble when he first stepped off the ship. Visibility was low and the datapad Rex had brought didn’t seem to work. “This fruit grows on trees… so I guess keep an eye out for trees.”

“This is going _great_.” Avayla coughs. She shields her face from the harsh wind. Rex pulls his helmet off and hands it to her. She thanks him and puts it on. They walk cautiously through the harsh terrain. Rex was getting more and more uneasy about this job the longer they marched. Dogma had started trying to get the datapad to work with no luck. Avayla attempts to lead them with the Force but can’t seem to focus. Rex pauses before grabbing the both of them making them stop.

“You hear that?” He asks as a loud machine-like moan echoes over the heavy wind. Rex narrows his eyes above them before pushing Dogma and Avayla forward to run before a giant excavator can come down on them. The machine scoops a giant amount of earth from the planet surface nearly causing Dogma to slide back from the already loose soil. Rex grabs his arm and pulls him along.

“Fruit!” Avayla yells as they run towards a grey dead looking tree. Hanging from its thin branches was the fruit they were sent to retrieve.

“Leave it!” Rex yells as they struggle to stay ahead of the giant machine. The machine scoops the tree up only moments after they pass it. A flash of lightning lights up the landscape showing rows of the giant machines tearing through the planet. Rex waits for another flash of lightning to see a large building in the distance. He knows it’s probably crawling with stormtroopers but at this point they seemed like the better option. He leads the others in the direction of the building. Rex was really missing his jetpack right about now.

When they reach the building, they fall against the cool metal walls panting. Rex coughs into his arm from all the dust and dirt in his lungs. Now safe from the machines they are able to make out most of the destroyed landscape.

“What are they doing?” Avayla asks horrified.

“They’re stealing the planet’s resources.” Rex says, taking in the destruction. Rex takes Avayla’s arm and leads her away. They should keep moving before someone spots them. They keep close to the wall as they walk. Rex draws his blasters keeping an eye out for stormtroopers.

“How are we supposed to find some fruit with those things destroying the entire planet?” Dogma asks when they turn a corner.

“There has to be some away from those machines.” Rex says leading them away form the building and towards a much smaller one. They press themselves against the smaller building’s walls when two stormtroopers walk out to patrol. They wait until they’ve turned a corner before continuing.

“Why are we killing ourselves for fruit?” Dogma asks. Rex didn’t have an answer for him.

“Just stay close.” He says as they try to maneuver around the buildings. Rex was hoping there was a stretch of land on the other side of the bigger building where they could go, get what they needed, then leave. As they walk Dogma trips on something and falls over.

“Get up Dogma!” Rex whispers. Dogma sits up but begins rummaging in the dirt.

“Hold on Captain, I tripped on something metal.” He says making Rex shake his head frustratedly.

“So?” Rex hisses but that doesn’t stop Dogma from pulling something out of the dirt.

“It’s an old R6 astromech droid!” He says dusting off the dirt. “Must have sunk into the loose soil.”

“Dogma we need to keep moving,” Rex insists. “We don’t have time to mess around with a droid. A droid that will probably turn us in if it had a chance!”

“Maybe it could help us find our way around the buildings?” Dogma says while starting to mess with the droid. Avayla puts a hand on Rex’s shoulder. She pulls off his helmet so she can give him a look. Rex takes the helmet back returning the look. The droid begins to beep and move as it comes back to life. “I got it to work!”

The droid backs up a bit before looking up at Dogma and beeping happily.

“You’re welcome. I’m Dogma, this is Avayla and Captain Rex.” Dogma says gesturing to the others. Rex pinches the bridge of his nose. “Do you think you could help us sneak around these buildings?”

The R6 unit gives a series of beeps.

“He says he can help!” Dogma says looking over at Rex with a smile.

“Absolutely not!” Rex says making Dogma’s smile vanish. Avayla elbows Rex in the side. “What?”

She pulls him over to the side away from Dogma.

“Let him have the droid.” She says crossing her arms over her chest.

“No, we don’t know where that droid’s loyalty lies not to mention we don’t need a droid!” Rex says frowning and matching Avayla’s posture. Avayla narrows her eyes at him.

“It. Makes. Him. _Happy_.” She says through gritted teeth.

“We. Don’t. Need. A. Stupid. _Droid_!” Rex grits right back. They stand like that for another moment before Rex puts his helmet on and starts walking back over to Dogma. “Ditch the droid. We’re moving.”

“Yes… Captain,” Dogma says standing. “Sorry little guy. You gotta stay here.”

They walk on leaving the droid behind. Dogma and Avayla are quiet after that. He leads them to another corner of the building before getting low. The others follow his lead as he peers around the corner at a small group of stormtroopers talking in a circle. Rex watches them closely.

“I don’t think they’ve seen us,” Rex says. Avayla and Dogma don’t say a word. They aren’t speaking to him now. _Great_. He looks past the stormtroopers to see a bridge that connects to a stretch of land not demolished by the excavators. “We may be able to find a way across that bridge and find some of the fruit trees.”

“Yeah, but I bet that side is _crawling_ with troopers and all kinds of guns.” Gregor says. Rex nods.

“You’re right we should…” Rex stops. He slowly turns to look back at Avayla and Dogma to find them knocked out on the ground. Gregor kneels next to him mimicking Rex’s position with a group of stormtroopers aiming their blasters at Rex behind him. He gives a big Gregor grin.

“ _Hello_ Captain!” He says right before hitting Rex so hard it knocks him out.

Rex wakes up to a hard kick in the ribs. He grunts and forces his eyes to adjust to the bright light above him. He’s tied to a pillar in a large warehouse as a stormtrooper stands over him holding a gun.

“That woke you up.” The stormtrooper chuckles. Rex stops fidgeting for a second at the sound of the stormtroopers voice. Rex looks up at him.

“What was that?” Rex asks. The stormtrooper puts his shoe against Rex’s forehead.

“Have a nice nap _clone_?”

That time Rex was sure.

“Who the hell are you? You’re no clone!” Rex snarls fighting against his restraints. The stormtrooper laughs before removing his shoe from Rex’s head and hitting him with the end of his blaster.

“That’s right. The Emperor thinks you clones have served your purpose. He’s fazing you pieces of shit out and us in.” The stormtrooper says.

“Cut it out!” Gregor’s voice cuts through the warehouse. The stormtrooper makes a displeased noise before stepping away. Rex tries to frown at Gregor but something in him can’t help but smile.

“How many times is it going to take to kill you, Gregor?” Rex grins. Gregor crosses his arms over his chest tilting his head with a smile.

“You know me Captain, can’t keep a good man down.” He says making the stormtrooper snort under his helmet. Gregor narrows his as at him.

“What was that HT-481?” Gregor frowns.

“Nothing, _Sir_. Nothing at all.” The stormtrooper says lowly.

“Why don’t you go guard the door? Make yourself useful.” Gregor mumbles. The stormtrooper hesitates but does what he’s told. Gregor looks down at Rex. “So hard to find good help these days.”

“When did that start?” Rex snorts with a nod of his chin at the stormtrooper.

“Oh, not long after the fall of the Jedi,” Gregor sighs leaning against a crate. “It was the Empires idea to create more jobs for the people. Started letting normies in and what not. I don’t like it but what can ya do?”

Rex begins to feel sick. First the Empire uses the clones to take down the Jedi and then they decide they don’t need them? Rex could feel his rage boiling in his chest. The only thing to calm it was the sight of a scorch mark on Gregor’s calf.

“I see you’ve met Avayla?” Rex says nodding to Gregor’s calf. Gregor looks down before throwing his head back laughing.

“ _Yeah_! You should have seen the way she looked at me when she woke up! I’m surprised I still have eyebrows after dealing with her.” Gregor laughs. Rex frowns making Gregor smirk. “Relax Rex ol’ boy. She’s still alive. For now.”

“And Dogma?” Rex says lowly.

“Dogma’s fine. No ones messed with him yet. No one’s needed to.” He says looking at the ground. Rex’s stomach churns before he meets Gregor’s eyes.

“Gregor listen to me. You know something is up with us clones. You have to know you aren’t in control of your own mind!” Rex says trying to reason with him. Gregor frowns facing Rex.

“And what makes you say that, _traitor_?” Gregor snarls, drawing his blaster. Rex doesn’t break eye contact.

“Because if you didn’t, we wouldn’t be talking right now would we? I would be dead.” 

They hold eye contact for a long moment with Gregor pointing a blaster at Rex’s head. Gregor’s com goes off.

“What?” Gregor says turning away.

“Uh Sir, there’s a Commander…” The voice breaks off followed by a series of fumbles and a small scream.

“Gregor!” Wolffe yells over the com. Gregor lets out a loud laugh.

“Commander Wolfy! Long time no get yelled at.” Gregor chuckles into the com.

“Gregor, Rex is my hunt! I’ve been tracking him all across the galaxy. You will turn him over to me.” Wolffe snarls over the com. Gregor just laughs.

“Really? Well, he’s with me now if you…” Gregor starts but is interrupted when the doors to the warehouse burst open.

“Halt!” the stormtrooper yells drawing his blaster. Wolffe stares at the blaster aimed at him before letting out a snarl and throwing the stormtrooper into a stack of crates.

“Damn Wolffe.” Gregor mutters. Wolffe marches up to them breathing heavy. Gregor stands there with a wide smile. He opens his mouth to say something but stops when Wolffe raises his hand.

“ _You_ , don’t talk. Never speak to me again,” Wolffe says pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why was the only open landing platform a _mile_ away in this blasted wind? And why do you have so many non-clones under your command?”

Gregor opens his mouth to speak.

“No! I don’t want to hear it.” Wolffe interrupts him. Gregor grins as he steps aside so Wolffe can look down at Rex. Wolffe’s usually neat hair is jostled from the heavy winds. Dirt sticks to his face and armor making him more out of regs then Rex has ever seen him.

“That’s a good look for you Commander.” Rex says with a smirk. Wolffe grinds his teeth before setting his jaw and straightening up. 

“You’re coming with me for execution.” Wolffe says collecting himself.

“Why not just shoot me here?” Rex asks not that he’s complaining.

“The situation has changed,” Wolffe says before turning to Gregor. “Where’s the girl?”

Oh no. Rex begins to fight against his restraints. Gregor says something making Wolffe argue with him, but Rex wasn’t paying attention anymore. He had to get out. He had to get Avayla out. His restraints were too tight to wiggle out of and he didn’t have a way to cut it. While Gregor and Wolffe argue over something, movement catches Rex’s eye. The R6 unit moves around the warehouse keeping out of Gregor’s and Wolffe’s sight. When close enough it slowly starts inching over to Rex.

“What do you want?” He snarls quietly at the droid. Damn thing probably turned them in. It chirps at him. “What do you mean you’re rescuing me?”

The R6 unit pulls out a small saw cutting Rex’s restraints. Rex feels his hands free. He looks over at the R6 unit.

“Thank you.” He says softly. Rex slowly moves away from the pole. Whatever Gregor and Wolffe were arguing about had both of them thoroughly invested in it. Rex finds himself following the droid into the shadows of the warehouse. The droid takes him to a crate where his helmet and blasters sit.

“Thanks,” Rex says slipping his helmet on and taking his blasters. “You know where Avayla and Dogma are?”

The droid beeps happily before leading Rex out of the warehouse and towards the big building. They sneak inside managing to hide from the stormtroopers. It won’t be long until Wolffe and Gregor realize he’s gone and this whole compound is after them. The droid leads him down a hall before stopping at a door. On the other side it sounded like a person getting thrown into a wall followed by the sounds of flames.

“Avayla’s room I’m guessing.” Rex chuckles. The droid plugs into a power socket opening the doors. Avayla throws a stormtrooper through the now open doors nearly hitting Rex. Rex puts his blasters away and leans against the doorway crossing his arms with a smirk under his helmet.

“You’re late.” She says with her hair a mess from fighting what seems to be a room full of non-clone stormtroopers.

“I was expecting _you_ to save _me_!” Rex grins with a shrug earning a punch in the arm. Avayla smooths her hair down as she steps out of the room. She looks down to see R6 beeping happily at her.

“Hello again!” She says kneeling down to its level. “Are you the real hero here?”

He gives a series of chirps and beeps.

“Yeah, I guess you did.” Rex agrees with the droid. Avayla looks from the droid to Rex confused.

“What…? Did it say something? All I heard was beeps.” She says making Rex chuckle.

“Come on. We need to find Dogma and get out of here.” Rex says drawing his blasters again. Avayla and Rex follow R6 to find Dogma. When they approach his room there are two stormtroopers guarding his door. Rex and Avayla hide behind a corner before Rex decides to step out and calmly walk towards them. When they see him, they raise their blasters to fire, but Rex shoots them before they ever get a chance. They fall to the ground with a thud as Rex puts his blasters away with a spin. R6 plugs into the power socket for Dogma’s door. When the doors open Rex steps inside. Dogma sits on the floor in the corner of the room hugging his knees.

“Please don’t leave me alone…” He sobs softly. Rex kneels down near him.

“Dogma,” Rex says touching his shoulder. Dogma flinches and pulls away shielding his face. Rex pauses feeling his chest ache. When Dogma realizes it’s Rex, he wraps his arounds around Rex’s shoulders.

“Rex!” He gasps. He shakes underneath Rex’s touch. He holds his brother tightly before pulling away.

“We need to move.” He tells him. Dogma nods trying to wipe his eyes looking slightly embarrassed. Avayla gives Dogma’s shoulder a squeeze before they exit the room. R6 rolls up to Dogma with loud beeps.

“R6? What are you doing here?” Dogma asks shocked.

“Your droid saved the day.” Rex says nodding at R6. Dogma looks back at him.

“My droid?” He says making Avayla grin at him. Rex tilts his head side to side.

“Yeah, you can keep the droid,” Rex says finally. “If he can help us get out of here. Wolffe is here now too. And Gregor won’t make it easy for us either. He’s crazy but that’s what makes him good.”

“What do you say R6? Can you help us get out of here? Our ship is parked south of here towards where the excavators are.” Dogma asks. R6 beeps before leading on.

“Seriously, its just beeps. How do you understand him?” Avayla asks Rex while they run behind the droid. An alarm goes off before Rex can respond. Wolffe and Gregor will both be after them. Stormtroopers appear at the end of the hall. Avayla jumps in front of R6 and Dogma before pushing her hands forward sending a wall of fire. Dogma steps back shocked.

“She can shoot _fire_?” Dogma says making Rex laugh.

“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” Rex says nudging Dogma. They jump over the chard bodies and keep going. When they make it out of the big building Wolffe and Gregor are running out of the warehouse. Rex stops, pushing everyone behind a stack of crates.

“It’s your fault he escaped!” Wolffe yells as they run towards the big building.

“My faul—everything was fine until you came in throwing stormtroopers!” Gregor yells back. When they disappear into the big building Rex motions for them to keep going. They run back through the warehouse hoping Gregor and Wolffe won’t backtrack. R6 takes Avayla and Dogma to a crate where their stuff is. Dogma pulls his helmet back on and takes his blaster while Avayla gives her staff a few spins. While spinning it, her staff hits the top of a crate popping it open. She peaks inside and lets out a laugh.

“Hey Rex,” She says with a grin while reaching in and pulling out a piece of the fruit they were sent here to find. “What was that thing you said about luck?”

“No such thing.” He grins. He hits the button on the side, so it’ll hover. With their gear back R6 leads them to the back of the warehouse and out towards the excavators. They run through the strong wind and loose soil barely able to make out what’s in front of them.

“R6, do you have a reading on the ship?” Dogma asks. The droid beeps a few times before it slowly begins to sink into the soil. Rex groans before reaching down and pulling the droid in his arms.

“Keep moving!” Rex yells over the wind. They manage to make it to the sinking ship, nearly falling to their deaths a couple times along the way. The ramp has mostly sunk into the dirt, so they are forced to dig their way inside the ship. Avayla closes the door trapping them and a giant pile of dirt inside. Rex hurries to the pilot chair and starts the ship up. Rex mutters under his breath “Now let’s see if I can get us off this planet without killing us.” 

Avayla reaches over and touches his arm. Her eyes are closed. Focused.

“Bare left.” She says. Rex does, missing a tower. Avayla gets him through the atmosphere before falling back in her seat. Now safe, Dogma retreats to his room.

“This is my room, R6.” Dogma says in his room with the droid. Rex chuckles to himself.

“See?” Avayla says smiling at Rex.

“It does make him happy.” Rex nods returning her smile before maneuvering around the Empire ships and going light speed.

When they reach Takodana, Rex lands near Maz’s place. They bust through the doors making the whole place fall silent once again. Rex kicks the crate across the room hitting the bar. Maz looks up at him from across the room before walking over to the crate. She carefully opens it up to inspect the contents. Rex walks further inside covered in dirt and dust. Maz finally returns the fruit to the crate before standing on the bar.

“A round of drinks for everyone for Captain Reckless!” She announces making the entire place cheer. Rex lets out a relieved breath. Maz motions for him to follow as she slides the crate to one of her colleagues. They sit at the same round table where the deal was made. A girl brings a tray a drinks for them. Avayla and Rex both shot their drink while Dogma coughs and gags on his.

“Maybe just juice for the boy?” Maz says as Dogma coughs a thank you. Maz smiles at Rex. “You’re a brave one.”  
“Stupid’s more like,” Rex snorts. “We nearly died for that crate.”

“I know.” She says with a nod. “I did not expect you to get it. But you have done more then you know.”

Rex arches an eyebrow at her.

“These fruit you nearly died for will save lives of thousands. They have a rare healing property that will help the poor refugees forced from their homes by the Empire.” She explains. “That planet was the only place it grows. Now we’ll be able to plant more.”

“Well… that makes me not feel quite as stupid.” Rex says rubbing the back of his neck. She pats his arm.

“You and your crew are welcome in my home.” She says.

“Thank you.” Rex says before Avayla leans forward.

“Wait a second, we still haven’t gotten paid. I’m glad that fruit is going to help people but after everything we went—” Avayla is cut off by Maz lifting a heavy bag of credits on the table. “… Thank you for doing business with the Reckless.”  
Rex rolls his eyes at her when she slides the big bag of credits her way. Maz laughs as she gets to her feet and leaves them. Rex looks over at Avayla.

“You satisfied?” He asks.

“I suppose.” She says handing him the bag of credits. He glances over at Dogma who is happy talking to R6. Rex still felt uneasy, but this was a good thing. Now they had money and a safe place to find work. Rex leans back in his chair and pours himself and Avayla another drink. Dogma notices and grabs his glass of juice. They clink their glasses together.

“To the Reckless.”

  
  



	7. Stargazing

"This is ridiculous.” Rex says plainly standing in a clothing store while Avayla holds a shirt up to him.

“Yeah, you know what’s even more ridiculous?” She asks with a smirk. “A man who only owns two changes of clothes and they are _identical_.”

“They were republic issued…” Rex mumbles when she puts the shirt in the keep pile and moves on to pants.

“I don’t know, Sir. She has a point,” Dogma says holding the stack of clothes Avayla has picked out for him. “It would probably be smart to get a new look. We stick out in a crowd and make it easy for Commanders Wolffe and Gregor to find us.”

He was right. Now they had both Gregor and Wolffe hunting them down. Wolffe was a by the book hardass with no mercy and Gregor was a _lunatic_ with no mercy. They had a few close calls over the past few weeks. Rex lets out a sigh and gives in. Avayla hands him an armful of clothes and sends him into the dressing room. He reluctantly tries on five different outfits and lets Avayla critique every single one. Dogma sits to the side having already done his fashion show for her ready to go home. By the time its over Rex is thoroughly done with the world. It costs almost half their credits to pay for the clothes. Rex stares at the receipt.

“We’ll earn the credits back Rex.” Avayla says walking down the streets of Aldera on Alderaan. Rex kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t say much considering he spent their last job payout on upgrading the Reckless. Now she can withstand more fire and is faster. Though he didn’t think buying new clothes was on parr with upgrading the ship. When they reach the Reckless, they go inside and put their clothes away. Rex decides to change into the new black pants and what Avayla called an _eggshell_ white shirt they purchased today. He pulled the brown jacket on and fastened his blaster holders around his waist before stepping out of his room. Dogma was standing in the kitchen getting gawked at by Avayla in his new clothes. She frees Dogma from her hold and moves on to Rex.

“Look at you!” She says while reaching up to adjust the jacket. Rex lets out a deep sigh. “Stop acting like I just made you put on a dress. You look good.”

“Thanks.” Rex says smoothing his shirt while walking over to the table. He and Avayla sit as Dogma digs through the cabinets.

“Why can’t we keep food in this place?” Dogma mutters pulling out an empty box.

“You two eat like you have four stomachs.” Avayla snorts before avoiding eye contact with Rex who eyes the hypocrite.

“Well either way we have no food.” Dogma says leaning against the kitchen counter.

“We could always go out for dinner? I hear the food here is amazing.” Avayla suggests. Rex drops his head back with his eyes closed.

“We should be trying to save money but… we also need to eat.” He starts before standing. “Let’s go.”

R6 rams into Rex’s leg.

“What?” Rex asks while rubbing his knee. The droid beeps at him angrily.

“I’m sorry R6. I know we promised we wouldn’t go out tonight but… we do have to eat.” Dogma says apologetically. The droid rolls away cursing their names. Avayla looks at Rex for translations.

“You don’t want to know.” Rex mutters before they leave the droid to watch the ship. The sun was starting to go down on the beautiful city. Rex had never been to Alderaan before. He had always heard from General Skywalker about how nice it was and had always wanted to visit. There was a sadness to the city for Rex as he knew he couldn’t enjoy his first visit with General Skywalker.

They walk the streets admiring all the lights and interesting people. Dogma didn’t like crowds but stayed close. Avayla had never seen cities with tall skyscrapers before. She ogled at everything they passed. After thirty minutes of walking around the city Avayla taps Rex’s arm.

“We could go there!” She says pointing to a cantina. Rex shakes his head.

“They probably don’t serve real food.” Rex says but she doesn’t take her eyes off of the cantina. Music pours out of every opening along with bright colorful lights. Dogma doesn’t seem interested in it until the smell of food hits him.

“I think it does sell food.” Dogma says walking towards it. Rex opens his mouth to stop him but Avayla is right there with him. He frowns and follows. The place is packed making Rex feel uneasy as they step around people to reach the bar. Avayla doesn’t seem to know what to look at first. Dogma leans against the counter and orders the food the people next to him are eating. Rex orders a tall drink. They take the food and drinks to a booth and have a seat. Dogma digs into the food first while Rex sips his drink. Avayla keeps her eyes on the dancefloor moving her shoulders slightly to the beat of the music.

“If you want to dance just go dance.” Rex says putting his drink down.

“Oh no… I couldn’t alone,” She says over the music before looking at Rex. “Do you want to dance?”

“No.” He says. She nods slowly before slumping down on her side of the booth and taking one of the fried meat buns Dogma has. They sit in relative silence as they share the food and drink their drinks. Rex sips his drink before looking down at it wondering if he actually liked it.

“Wanna dance?” A voice asks making Rex look up from his drink. A man wearing a low V neck shirt grins down at Avayla. Rex frowns at him and opens his mouth to tell him to get lost.

“I’d love to.” Avayla says taking the man’s hand before Rex could speak. He watches them walk to the dance floor together.

“What is she doing?” Rex asks watching her begin to move along with the music and the man. Dogma stuffs his mouth before looking over.

“She’s dan’in.” He says with a full mouth. After he gets done chewing he adds. “She actually dances a lot like those holograms the guys used to play in the barracks.”  
“Shut up Dogma.” Rex mutters stuffing his mouth. He watches Avayla dance through most of the night. He got up four times for drinks. Dogma was content to finish the food and just enjoy the music from his seat. Rex was getting more annoyed the longer the night went on. The way Avayla ran her fingers through her hair and the way the man touched her hips pissed him off. He pushed himself up from the table. “I’ll be back.”

He stumbles through the crowd and out of the cantina. He stands on the street taking in the night air. He reaches down to his blasters and pulls out his secret stash of cigarettes. He didn’t smoke often but sometimes he just needed one. He had to learn to hide them after Kix went on a rampage when he found a group of the 501st smoking outside the 79’s. He puts the death stick between his lips and lit up. He takes in the flavor before exhaling the stream of smoke. Fuck he missed this. He holds the cigarette between his teeth as he digs out a small datapad. He pulls up an article he had been reading before bed. He smoked and read his article while leaning against a skyscraper wall. As much as his eyes stared at the words all he could think about was light purple hair swaying side to side, big golden eyes shining in the lights, and a smile that made warmth spread through his chest.

“Fuck,” Rex sighs putting his datapad away. He finishes his cigarette and reaches for another. He pulls out his hidden pack to discover he had smoked the last one. “ _Fuck_!” 

He suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands. He shoves them in his jacket pockets before turning to see a man in a long-hooded cloak and mask staring at him. He arches a brow at the man but the man doesn’t move. Rex makes a noise in his throat before walking back into the cantina. He makes his way back to the booth where Dogma sits still people watching and nodding to the music. Rex knocks on the table.

“We’re leaving.” He says. Dogma nods and slides out of the booth. Rex scans the dancefloor for Avayla, but she is nowhere to be found. Rex started to feel uneasy before Dogma tapped his shoulder and pointed across the cantina. Avayla and the man stood against the wall talking amongst themselves. She smiled and laughed at something he said while playing with her hair. Rex frowns and makes his way over. When he approaches them, he gives a big grin and narrows his eyes at the man. “ _Hi_!”

“Hi.” The man says returning the fake grin. Rex looks at Avayla.

“We need to go.” He says. She frowns at him but nods. She places a hand on the man’s chest.

“This was fun! I’ll see you around.” She says letting her hand run across his chest as she walked away. Rex turns feeling like he needed another cigarette already. They walk out of the cantina. Avayla linked her arms through Dogma’s and Rex’s. “That was so fun!”

“The food was good.” Dogma nodded. Rex grunts with a nod. Avayla laughs at him.

“You’re such an old man.” She says. He looks at her.

“I’m not old.” He says defensively. She lets out a louder laugh.

“Right, that’s why you spent the whole night scowling at everyone.” She says unlinking her arms. Rex stuffs his hands in his pockets again.

“I didn’t like the music.” He says. Avayla doesn’t answer. She just hums and walks ahead of him.

“I liked it.” Dogma says. “I liked the food more.”

Rex looks at Dogma before chuckling with a head shake. He reaches up rubs Dogma’s head.

“Let’s go home kid.” Rex says. Dogma makes a face and looks him in the eye.

“Did you smoke?” He asks. Rex pulls his hand away and starts walking faster.

“Definitely need to go home now.” He mutters. He looks back before they turn towards where their ship is to see the man from before standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring at them as they walk away. Rex frowns and focuses on getting back to the ship.

Later that night when Rex had decided to take the ship back to Scarif Rex sat on the beach craving another cigarette. He sipped a beer while watching the waves crash into the beach. He jumped when Avayla throws down an armful of firewood. She laughs at him before lighting it. She hands him a blanket while sitting next to him with her own wrapped around her shoulders. He thanks her and wraps the blanket around himself.

“How’s Dogma?” He asks while watching the fire pop.

“He’s in his room with R6. I think they’re watching a movie.” She says pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders. They sit in silence for a moment. “What was wrong with you tonight?”

“I don’t know.” He confesses. He looks down for a second before looking at her. “I smoked a cigarette.”

“I _thought_ I smelled an ashtray!” She laughs. Rex smiles down at his beer. He offers his beer to her. He watches her lift it to her lips and take a sip before handing it back. He slowly raises it to his own lips taking a drink. Avayla looks up at the stars and smiles softly.

“You like stargazing?” Rex says staring at how her hair cascades down her shoulders and the way a dimple forms when she smiles. She smiles bigger and sways slightly.

“On Kro Var I watched forests, valleys, and rivers disappear due to constant war. But the one thing we couldn’t fuck up were the stars,” She says looking at Rex. “It’s the one thing that every planet has in common. No matter where you go you can always look up and see a sky full of stars.”

“I never thought of it like that,” Rex says softly. “Do you miss Kro Var?” 

“Surprisingly, yes,” She says looking at the fire. “It’s funny how I spent most of my time wishing I was anywhere but there. Now, I can go literally anywhere in the galaxy and I spend half my time thinking of home.”

“My home planet was technically Kamino. It’s a water planet where us clones were made,” Rex explains. “But if I was being honest Coruscant was more of a home to me.”

“I’ve heard of that place a few times.”

“It’s a planet that’s entirely a city.” Rex says. Avayla gives him a look.

“Like Aldera?” she asks. When he nods she narrows her eyes at him. “You’re bullshitting me, right?”

“No,” Rex laughs. “It’s literally a planet that’s a city!”

“Bull _shit_!” She says shoving his shoulder making him laugh harder. “You’re taking me there then!”

“Fine, I’ll take you to Coruscant if you take me to Kro Var.” He says leaning back on his hands.

“Deal. I mean that was always going to happen anyway,” she shrugs. He raises an eyebrow at her. “What? My whole plan is to learn how to be peaceful and shit and then go back home and _teach_ my people how to be peaceful and shit.”

“That was a very Jedi way to put that.” Rex says making her shove him again.

“You know what I mean.” She says looking back up at the stars. He stares at her before lifting his eyes to the stars too.

“I look forward to it.” He says softly.

They lost track of time stargazing together. When Avayla started bobbing her head they decided to call it a night. Avayla put the fire out and helped Rex to his feet. They brushed off the sand and walked back to the ship. Rex raises the ramp to the ship and says goodnight to Avayla while watching her disappear in her room. He stares at her closed door for a moment longer before walking into his own room. He could hear the muffled sound of Dogma’s movie while lying in bed. He stared up at the ceiling feeling a stirring in his chest he wasn’t familiar with. He turned to look at the wall separating his room with Avayla’s. Soft music began playing from her side. He let out a breath closing his eyes. He fell asleep thinking of stars and a warm smile.

Rex woke to the usual sounds of the Reckless. R6 was beeping far to loudly for the morning hours. Dogma was trying to conjure up a breakfast with what little they had as Avayla sipped her coffee with her hair up in a messy bun. Rex walks out of his room with a yawn and stretch. Everyone grunts a morning to him. He pours himself a cup of coffee before lowering the ramp letting in natural light and fresh air. Dogma and Avayla groan while shielding their eyes.

“Good morning!” Rex says loudly earning more groans. He walks down the ramp towards the beach. He quite enjoyed drinking coffee by the water. The early morning hours were always his favorite. Even in the 501st when everyone was quiet, and the only people awake were him and Kix or anyone else who dared wake up early to exercise. The sleepy shuffle and soft murmurs were comforting. Now he enjoys the sounds of waves crashing onto the shore. He sips his coffee while taking in the morning sun. He closes his eyes taking a deep breath. When he exhales, he opens his eyes and notices something in the corner of his eye. When he turns to see what it is, he nearly drops his coffee. Standing down the beach is a man in a long-hooded cloak and mask. Staring at Rex.


	8. The Inquisitor

Both the stranger and Rex are locked in each other’s gaze. They stand fifty feet apart waiting for the other to make the first move.

“Who are you? How did you find us?” Rex asks hoping Avayla and Dogma could hear him. The stranger does not move or speak. He only stares through his mask with his cloak swaying with the morning breeze. Rex steps towards the ship to get the others when he feels his throat begin to tighten. He drops his coffee with the familiar feeling of being force choked pulling him off the ground. He gasps for air desperately clawing at the invisible force strangling him. He stares at the inquisitor holding his hand out choking him. the wind picks up pushing the Inquisitor further down the beach freeing Rex. He falls to his knees gasping. Avayla runs to his side.

“What’s going on?” she asks not taking her eyes off the dark figure getting to his feet.

“We need to leave, now!” Rex yells. They start to run for the ship before they are lifted off the ground and thrown into the sand. Rex rolls over in time to see the red lightsaber ignite. The Inquisitor drops their cloak revealing to be a woman.

“I have been looking for you, Shaper.” The woman says approaching them. Avayla and Rex get to their feet. Rex had no weapons on him and didn’t stand much of a chance against her. Avayla had rage in her eyes. Flames spread from her hands and up her arms. Dogma ran out of the ship with his armor on holding Rex’s blasters.

“You’ve found me. Now what?” Avayla asks narrowing her eyes. The woman chuckles under her helmet.

“Now you come with me,” She says spinning her red lightsaber. “Or die.”

Avayla grits her teeth before slinging fire at the woman. The inquisitor easily doges it and strikes at Avayla. Rex takes this chance to run to Dogma. He takes his blasters before they both open fire at the inquisitor. Avayla and the inquisitor both manage to block each other’s blows. They move to much for Rex and Dogma to get a hit without possibly hitting Avayla. Rex curses under his breath before running back to the ship.

“R6, get the ship running!” Rex yells sliding into Avayla’s room. He grabs her staff and runs back to the beach. It looks like a sandstorm with all the wind Avayla is creating. He could barely see them through the mess. He could make out Avayla’s flames and the red lightsaber and ran towards them. He draws his blaster and fires at the Inquisitor’s back. She turns around in time reflecting the shot hitting him in the leg. He drops to the sand groaning through gritted teeth.

“This is it? My Master told me of your kind. He said your people were made of great warriors and thrived in war. You must be a great disappointment to your people.” The Inquisitor taunts under her helmet. Avayla roars lurching towards the Inquisitor. Rex throws Avayla’s staff her way. She catches it and immediately swings it sending the Inquisitor flying off towards the ocean. She runs to Rex and helps him up. They limp back to the ship as fast as they can. Rex’s heart rang in his ears. Everything in his body was screaming to get to the ship. _Get to the ship_. Avayla lets out a scream and falls forward. The Inquisitor trudges out of the water having thrown her lightsaber striking Avayla’s back. Rex sucks in air ignoring the pain in his leg while scooping Avayla in his arms and limping to the ship. The second they are inside Dogma starts to take off. Rex closes the ramp and falls on the ship floor.

“Get as far away from here as possible!” Rex groans from the floor. He rolls over to a trembling Avayla. She lays on her stomach with the long-burned scar stretching from her left shoulder all the way down to her right hip. Her hands are balled into tight fists shaking from the pain. Rex sits up ignoring his own wound and limps to the emergency kit they had on board. He tears her shirt making her flinch, but she didn’t scream or cry out in pain. She stayed silent. Rex began tending to her wound. When he’s certain they are safe Dogma walks over to them. R6 beeps worriedly beside Dogma.

“She’ll be fine.” Rex says though he wasn’t completely sure.

“Rex, your leg.” Dogma says pointing to Rex’s thigh. Rex shook his head.

“It’s fine.” He says but Dogma reaches in the kit and begins dressing Rex’s leg. He opens his mouth to protest but when the healing patch touches his leg, he can only rest his head back in relief. Avayla begins pushing herself off the floor.

“Avayla stop…” Dogma starts but stops when she holds out her hand to silence him. She doesn’t face them as she walks into her room. Dogma helps Rex stand and limp over to her door.

“I’m fine.” She says harshly through the door.

“Avayla, your wound is bad.” Rex starts.

“I said I'm fine!” She yells. Heat bursts from under the door making them step back.

“She just needs to cool off,” Dogma says starting to direct Rex to his room. “Literally.”

“How did she find us?” Rex asks with a groan when laying on his bed. Dogma adjusts his pillows with R6 beeping next to him.

“R6 can’t find any tracking beacon.” Dogma says sitting on the edge of the bed. “She may have used some Force technic.”

“I hope not. We may have nowhere to hide if she did.” Rex sighs. “Where are we anyway?”

“I didn’t know where to go so I just put the only planet I could think of. Geonosis.” Dogma says. Rex tries not to complain. There were worse planets. There were also better planets. Rex sits up and examines his leg. He’s had worse and with the healing pack he should be fine in a couple hours. Kix could probably get him going in minutes but it is what it is. He looks over at the wall separating Avayla’s room with Rex’s.

“I know she probably won’t open the door, but can you try and give her a healing pack?” Rex asks. Dogma nods and leaves. He rests his head back staring at the ship ceiling. The Inquisitor will be back sooner then later. He racked his mind trying to think of how she followed them to Scarrif. Even if she had managed to reach a ship and follow them off planet there was no way they were tracked through lightspeed. He starts to roll on his side but is remined of his wound when pain shoots down his leg. He sighs and stays still. He looks back at the separating Avayla and Rex. She would cool down and then they would come up with a plan. He closes his deciding to get some rest before they come up with an attack plan.

“Rex!” Dogma says shaking Rex awake. He sits up on alert.

“What’s wrong?” He asks looking around for a flaming ship, but nothing seemed to be wrong. “Is Avayla okay?”  
“No… yes but mostly no,” Dogma starts. R6 rolls into the room beeping loudly before rolling off towards the ramp of the ship.

“She’s what?” Rex yells swinging his legs off the bed. He’s pleased to see his wound was mostly healed thanks to the healing pack. He grabs his blaster just in case and runs off the ship. He can see Avayla in the distance walking towards a canyon side. He curses under his breath and starts after her.

When he catches up to Avayla it was becoming more and more clear that her wound hasn’t properly healed yet.

“Avayla!” Rex yells. She stops in front of the canyon wall and looks it over.

“Leave Rex.” She says plainly before tossing her jacket to the side. Her chest and back are wrapped in bandages. She never put a healing pack on.

“You need to heal.” Rex insists stepping towards her.

“Stop,” She says making Rex freeze. She stands with her back to him. Her hair is pulled into a high ponytail that sways in the warm breeze. “Do you know what happened back there?”

“We were attacked by…”  
“I ran.” She cuts him off. “Shapers do not run from a fight and I ran. But not just with the person on the beach. With the Wolfpack, with Gregor, with everything I’ve faced since leaving my home planet. No more.”

“Avayla, knowing when to choose to fight another day is just as important to know when to not run from a fight.” Rex says shaking his head. Her hands close into tight fists.

“Not my people,” She says mutters. “I will _not_ be a disappointment to them.”

Rex opens his mouth to say more but stops himself. She wouldn’t hear it now if he did. So instead, he steps back a ways and watches his friend do what she feels she must do. Rex, Dogma, and R6 sit on a rock a ways back from Avayla. She first meditates on her knees whispering in a language none of them recognized as if she were praying. After an hour of that she finally stood and lowered herself into a fighting position. She begins striking at the air. They watch her perform fighting movements for another hour before she began using fire and wind. She turns towards the canyon wall and strikes with wind. Rex and Dogma have to shield their face from the sand and dirt she knocks up. The wind is so strong it cuts into the rock. She jumps spinning before landing a punch to the canyon side.

“Avayla!” Rex yells getting to his feet. She stands with her fist still pressed to the canyon wall. He could see her arm shaking from the pain. “You’re going to break your hand!”

“If you can’t watch then leave.” She pants before pulling back and striking again. Rex closes his hands into tight fists before shaking his head and turning away.

“If you want to break every bone in your hand then be my guest!” He yells walking towards the ship. Dogma hesitates before running after Rex. Rex’s heart was racing while he grumbled under his breath. He storms into the ship and paces trying to get his anger under control.

“She’s just upset.” Dogma says softly.

“I _know_ she’s upset but she’s also going to break both of her hands punching a _fucking_ canyon!” Rex says before pressing his back against the ship wall and sliding to the floor. Dogma slowly walks over and sits next to Rex. In a calmer tone Rex adds “It was my fault she got hurt.”

“It was the Inquisitor’s fault.” Dogma shakes his head. Rex looks up at the chip ceiling.

“If I hadn’t of taken that stupid shot I wouldn’t have been limping and she wouldn’t have needed to help me make it back to the ship. We could have already been on the ship before the Inquisitor could make it to shore.” Rex says. Dogma nods slowly beside him. They are silent for a moment.

“Do you know what I think?” Dogma says slowly. Rex glances at him. “If you hadn’t of gotten injured then she would have kept fighting and would have ended up much worse. I think you being injured was more important to her then winning a battle.”

Rex stares at Dogma as he stands.

“I _also_ think that the little insult the Inquisitor said about her and her people pissed her off and the injury she got was just salt on the… well the emotional wound,” Dogma says extending his hand to Rex. Rex takes it and gets to his feet. “She just needs to cool down. And if punching a canyon is how she does it then so be it.”

“When did you get all wise and collected?” Rex says crossing his arms impressed.

“I had lost of practice watching you and General Skywalker.” He grins. Rex chuckles and shakes his head. Rex thought back to when General Skywalker would have moments like this. Rex never lost his head on him or judged him for his outbursts. What was the difference with Avayla? Rex walks to the ramp and looks out to the darkening sky.

“It’s going to rain. Geonosis has flash floods. Do we need to move the ship?” Rex asks Dogma. Dogma pulls out his datapad and starts punching in their coordinates. He shakes his head.

“No, the ship is fine but Avayla isn’t.” he says. R6 speeds into the ship beeping frantically.

“Shit.” Rex breathes stepping out of the ship into the rain. He could feel it getting harder by the second. He slips on the already muddy ground and slides down the hill towards Avayla. She continues to punch the canyon wall.

“You. Will. Bend. To. My. Will!” She screams with each punch. 

“Avayla,” Rex calls struggling to get to his feet. “We need to go!”

“Go away Rex!” She yells not stopping. Rex looks down at the water already rising to their ankles.

“This area is going to flood!” Rex yells over the now rushing water. Avayla turns facing him for the first time since the beach. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying.

“Good, I’ll get some practice with water!” She yells. Rex stares at her bloody knuckles and trembling hands. He carefully reaches and takes her hand in his. He gently inspects the gashes and cuts.

“Avayla.” He says softer. She doesn’t meet his eyes.

“This is how we learn.” She says looking away. “I was training to be a Master, but I only know how to command fire and air.”   
“That’s two more then me.” Rex says making a smile flash on her lips before forcing it away.

“I am already a disappointment to my Master.” She says meeting his eyes. Rex shakes his head.

“How?” Rex says gently squeezing the sides of her hands being careful not to cause pain. She shakes her head looking down at their hands.

“Rex…” Avayla starts before she’s cut off.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Dogma yells pulling their attention away from each other and to the water now almost up to their hips. Flashflood. _Right_. They meet each other’s eyes once more before sharing a nod and running towards Dogma. Avayla struggles to climb up the slippery hill with her wounded hands. Rex lifts her up so Dogma can pull her out of the flood zone. Rex reaches up for Dogma’s hand when the roar of water pulls his attention to the end of the canyon at the mountain of water hurdling towards him. There was no time. Rex squeezes his eyes shut waiting for the collision.

When it doesn’t happen, Rex peeks an eye open to see the water pulled upwards into a wall. He slowly looks up at Avayla. She uses slow movements keeping the water building upwards and then back on the rushing water. Dogma stares flabbergasted by what was happening.

“Dogma!” Rex yells still reaching up. Dogma snaps out of it and pulls Rex up. When Rex is safe Avayla lets out a small scream letting the water fall and flow through the canyon. Rex walks towards her before she starts falling back. He catches her in his arms lifting her off the ground. She had been at it for hours. That last bit saving Rex must have been the tipping point.

“Let’s go, Dogma.” Rex says leading him back to the ship. Once out of the rain Dogma runs to get towels. They dried off as much as possible nearly giving Dogma an aneurysm from all the mud tracked into the ship. While Dogma frantically cleans, Rex carries Avayla to her room. He lays her on her bed and pulls her hair out of her ponytail so it can fall freely. Her eyes flutter open. She stares up at Rex for a moment before her eyes grow wide and sits up. She winces at how fast she sat up and reaches for her wounded back. “If you had used the healing pack that would be healed by now.”

“I know, I know,” She sighs before staring at him. “I’m so sorry. I nearly got you killed.”

“Well,” Rex shrugs. “I nearly got you killed first, so I think we’re even.”

She looks down at bed sadly.

“Let me get you the healing pack.” Rex says standing. Avayla grabs his hand. He slowly sits back down.

“Rex,” She says softly staring down at her hand on his. “I left my planet for more reasons then just to learn from the Jedi…”

Rex places his hand on hers making her lift her eyes to his.

“It’s okay,” He says looking into her eyes. “You’re here now. We’re with you. If you want to stand and fight, then we’re going to be there fighting beside you. If you want to run, we’re going to probably be far behind you because you run _really_ fast.”

She lets out a laugh with a tear falling down her cheek.

“Same.” She nods after struggling to speak with the knot in her throat. They both laugh softly. She wipes her eyes with her smile returning.

The door opens with Dogma standing in the doorway holding a mop.

“I have cleaned all of the mud,” He says looking like he’s been though quite the ordeal. “I would appreciate it if you do not venture outside to avoid tracking in anymore.”

He turns to leave. Avayla leans back on her elbows and grins.

“What if we still have mud on our feet?” She calls back.

“Then _levitate_!” He yells back making Rex and Avayla burst out laughing.

“I’m going to get the healing packs.” Rex says standing. Before he can make it out of her room Dogma calls.

“We’re still out of food.”

“ _Fuck_!” Rex yells forgetting.

They spend the night riding out the storm by watching movies and pretending they weren’t hungry. Avayla sat with healing packs stuck to the tops of her hands and all down her back. Dogma argued with R6 through most of the movie about the plot and Rex fell asleep halfway through it. When the sun rises the next morning, they set off Geonosis to gather supplies. They now had Wolffe, Gregor, and an Inquisitor hunting them down, but Rex had never felt more confident that they would be able to face whatever came. 


End file.
